cwiJ ^j^rui^

COPY OF INSCBIPTION ON BACK OF PICTURE
' This original picture, painted from the life by John Hoppnek, is a
most accurate and impressive likeness of that uneijualled statesman and
entirely faultless man, Wm. Pitt. This Portrait was finished on tbe
28th Oct. A.D. 1805. He died 1806, Jany 23.'— Mul9r.\ve.

PITT : some Chapters of
his Life and Times. By
the Right Hon. Edward Gibson,
Lord Ashbourne

WITH PORTRAITS

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1898
AH rights reserved

PEEFACE

These few chapters, written and put together in the
midst of other pursuits, may help to show what manner
of man Pitt was. He has been dead nearly a century,
and a large number of his letters have been from time to
time discovered, and probably all parts of his life are now
well known. It is worthy of note that none of his letters
and no incident in his life disclose anything to his dis
credit, or tend to lower the high estimate- of his objects.
As in the case of all public men, there may be different
criticisms as to the policy he from time to time pursued,
and as to the wisdom and expediency of parts of his
public conduct ; but no ground has been discovered to
justify doubt as to the rectitude of his motives or the
elevation of his character.
My purpose in this book is limited — not to write a
continuous biography, but to confine myself to some
chapters on Pitt's life and times. Those who desire to
study his life as a whole can do so in Lord Stanhope's
interesting pages ; or, if they wish to get an attractive

VI PITT
condensed narrative, they can well do so in Lord
Eosebery's ' Pitt.' All, however, anxious to master
the history of Pitt's life and times, during the period
with which he deals, must study Mr. Lecky's standard
work. I have been very fortunate iu finding abundant new
materials — many unpubhshed letters of Pitt, his mother,
and brother, and also of George III., Canning, Lord
Clare, Lord Fitzwilliam, the Duke of Eutland, the Duke
of Portland, Orde, Dundas, Bishop Tomline, Georgiana
Duchess of Devonshire, Lord Auckland, and others.
The late Lord Bolton (who was the grandson of the
Eight Honourable Thomas Orde, Chief Secretary to
the Lord-Lieutenant in the time of the fourth Duke
of Eutland) kindly placed at my disposal the Bolton
Papers. I there found many most interesting unpub
lished letters of Pitt, of the Duke of Eutland, and Orde,
together with much valuable information. The present
Duke of Eutland added to my store, lent me the journal
of his grandfather's tour in Ireland, and gave me
copies of Cosway's miniatures of his grandmother, the
beautiful Duchess of Eutland.
The late Lord Waterford also supplied me with
useful information about the Eight Honourable John
Beresford, together with his hkeness.
In the British Museum, amongst the Pelham Papers,
and to a less degree amongst the Auckland Papers, I
found many documents and letters of much interest and

PEEFACE Vll
importance, of which I have made much use in the
chapters on Lord Fitzwilliam and Lord Clare.
I also had the great advantage, during two visits, of
looking through the large and important collection of
Pitt Papers at Orwell Park, the home of Mr. Ernest G,
Pretyman, M.P., and Lady Beatrice Pretyman. Mr.
Pretyman is the great-grandson of Bishop Tomline, and
is in possession of a great number of letters and papers
— some original and some copies — extending over the
whole range of Pitt's life. There are (in addition to
some papers not so coUected) a large number of boxes
full of letters and papers, many of them of consider
able interest and much value, and many as yet unpub
lished. My purpose being limited, I mainly confined
my examination to the parts which specially concerned
me. Amidst such an attractive mass of materials I was
often tempted to wander, but I deemed it necessary to
adhere to the scope of my plan, as I had not time or
opportunity to embark on more ambitious lipes. I trust,
however, that some day the public will be afforded the
advantage of reading in a properly edited form the
varied correspondence preserved at Orwell Park. The
letters I have utilised in my chapters are of deep
interest, and wiU, I venture to hope, add to the public
information on the matters with which I deal. Many
of Pitt's books also are in the possession of Mr. Prety
man, and an engraving of his book-plate will be found
on the cover of this volume.

VIII PITT
My lamented friend, Mr. Edward Stanhope, had gone
through the Pitt Papers at Orwell Park and arranged
them. One of the boxes, marked ' Pitt Family Papers,'
I found empty, but with a memorandum, in his hand
writing, saying that he had removed the contents to his
residence for examination. This led to my subsequently
paying a visit to Eevesby Abbey. Mrs. Stanhope did
not think she had the papers, but she most kindly made
a search, and they were found and restored to Orwell
Park after I had made copies of such as were suited to
my chapters. Eevesby Abbey teems with memorials
of Pitt. Mr. Stanhope regarded the subject as one of
the great interests of his life, but there was no trace of
any design on his part to write any book. He had,
however, made (as his magnum opus) a marvellous and
priceless collection of pictures and caricatures of Pitt —
interpaged at suitable places in his father's Life of Pitt.
He had, besides, numerous volumes of illustrations and
caricatures (including Gillray's) of the time, together
with a lock of Pitt's hair. The whole place was full of
signs and tokens of Pitt — all preserved by the widow of
Edward Stanhope with pious and reverent care. With
her kind permission I have printed in the Appendix an
abridgment of the catalogue of all known portraits and
engravings of Pitt, made in 1886 by the late Mr.
Scharf. The present Lord Stanhope, in the kindest way,
placed at my disposal the original series (75) of letters

PKEFACE IX
from Lady Chatham to Pitt's first tutor, Mr. Wilson,
ranging from 1765 to 1798, several of which, full of
interest, I have used. I am also indebted to the pre
sent Lord Auckland for a copy of the miniature of the
Honourable Eleanor Eden, which is prefixed to the
chapter on 'Pitt's one Love Story.' He has also in
his possession a most attractive portrait of her in later
life as Countess of Buckinghamshire, and one can
readily trace in the handsome face of the dignified
elderly lady the features of the young girl of twenty
who won Pitt's heart.
I have also to thank the Duchess of Cleveland for
a copy of her ' Life and Letters of Lady Hester Stan
hope,' printed for private circulation, which gives a
vivid account of Pitt's favourite niece, who did so
much to brighten his closing years. I have availed
myself of some of the interesting information it
contains. My thanks are also due to the Duchess of
Wellington for permission to reproduce the portrait of
Pitt by Gainsborough Dupont at Apsley House.
I desire also to express my gratitude to Mr. W. A.
Burdett-Coutts, M.P., for his permission to produce an
engraving from his splendid picture of Pitt by Hopp
ner, which contains the following inscription : — ' This
original picture, painted from the life by John Hopp
ner, is a most accurate and impressive likeness of
that unequalled statesman and entirely faultless man,
William Pitt. This portrait was finished on the

X . PITT
28th October, a.d. 1805. He died 1806, January
23rd.— Mulgrave.'
I am indebted to the National Portrait GaUery of
Ireland for the portraits of Clare, Grattan, and Fitz-
William ; whilst I owe to the National Portrait Gallery
of England the portrait of Pitt's father, painted whilst
he was stiU ' the Great Commoner.'
During a recent visit to Cambridge the Master of
Pembroke (the Eev. Dr. Searle) most kindly gave
me all the College information about Pitt's residence
and showed me the note of his admission, and also his
rooms in Ivy Court.
I have, from aU these sources, been able to collect
information and correspondence which will, I hope, be
of interest.

CONTENTS

CHAPTBR PAOB
I. PITT'S EARLY LIFE  1
IL THE DUKE OP RUTLAND  42
III. ORDE  77
IV. PITT'S CORBESPONDENCE ON THE COMMERCIAL RESO
LUTIONS . .  116
V. PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER . . . . 149
VI. LORD FITZWILLIAM  180
VII. PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY  230
VIII. LORD CLARE  249
IX. THE UNION  280
X. PITT APTER 1800  302
XI. BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS. . . . 333
APPENDIX  369
INDEX  .393

Explanation of Abbreviated References.

Bolton MSS., the papers in possession of Lord Bolton, at Bolton Hall,
Yorkshire. Pretyman MSS., the papers in possession of Mr. Ernest Pretyman,
M.P., at OrweU Park, Ipswich.
Mutland Correspondence, the correspondence of the fourth Duke,
edited by the present Duke of Butland.
The Sta/nliope Pampers, the papers in possession of the present Lord
Stanhope. Hist. MSS. Com,., the Historical Manuscripts Commission, Duke of
Eutland's papers and Lord Carlisle's papers.
The Pelham Papers, the several volumes of Pelham MSS. at the
British Museum,
The Auohlam,d Papers, the several volumes of Auckland MSS. at the
British Museum.
The Westmoreland Pampers, the papers in the State Paper OfBce,
Dublin Castle, and Dublin Becord OfiSce.

LIST OF PLATES

W. PITT  Frontispiece
Engraved from portrait painted by Hoppnee, October
1805, for Lord Mulgbave (see inscription in Preface),
now the property ofW. A. Bukdett-Coutts, Esq., M.P.
THE DUCHESS OP BUTLAND, WIFE OF THE FOURTH
DUKE  To face p. 42
From a miniature by Cosway, at Belvoir Castle, the pro
perty of the Duke op Rutland.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THOMAS ORDE (LOED
BOLTON)  , 77
From a portrait by G. Romney, the property of Lobd Bolton.
THE EIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN BERESFORD, M.P. „ lie
From, a portrait at Curraghmore, the property of the
Mabquis op Watekfobd.
' THE GREAT COMMONER,' PITT'S FATHEE, LOED
CHATHAM  149
From a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery of Eng
land by W. Hoare.
EAEL FITZWILLIAM  180
From meszotint portrait by Gbozeb, after Sir Joshua
Reynolds, in Irish National Portrait Gallery.
THE HONOURABLE ELEANOR EDEN, DAUGHTER OP
THE FIRST LORD AUCKLAND, AND AFTER
WARDS THE COUNTESS OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE „ 230
From, a miniature in the possession of the present Lord
Auckland.

XIV PITT
THE EARL OF CLARE  To face p. 249
From, a portrait hy H. D. Hamilton in the Irish National.
Portrait Gallery, purchased at the Mount Shannon sale
in 1888.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE HENBY GRATTAN . . „ 280
From mezzotint by Hodges, in Irish National Portrait
Gallery , from portrait by C. G. Stuart.
LOED CASTLEREAGH  „ 302
From mezzotint by Turner, in Irish National Portrait
Gallery, from-portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence in
Londonderry Souse, with replica at Windsor Castle.
THE EIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM PITT, Ml. 30 „ 332
From portrait by Gainsborough Dupont, by permission of
the Duchess op Wellington.

PITT
SOME CHAPTERS OF HIS LIFE AND TIMES
CHAPTEE I

Errata
Pa<r» 99^ line 13 after Windham insert as well as Pitt
Page 223, hne 13, a/^ ^^.^^^^^ .^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^,^^^^,
" 329' " 1> " Spencer insert Portland

— «»x«»gc"^xHrKes iiis~aegree-^Continues to reside
tliere-^Hjs friends there — Visits to London — To House of Lords —
Death of Chatham — ^William's letter to Pretyman — His sister Harriot's
reference to him — His power of putting trouble aside — Lord Liver
pool's opinion on the subject— Wilberforce's — Slender fortune — Called
to Bar — Western Circuit — Practice and chance of success — Stood for
Cambridge University — Defeat — Eeturned for Appleby — First speech
— Estimates of Lord North, Fox, Burke, and Selwyn — Eefiises any
' subordinate ' office— Thus separated from Fox — Shelbume succeeds
Eockingham — Pitt ChanceUor of the Exchequer — Coalition Ministry — ¦
Defeat — ^Action of George III. — Pitt Prime Minister — Mrs. Crewe's
description of his Ministry — He bides his time — Dundas — Lord
Temple — Curiosity of country — Soon showed Ms powers — Judgments
of Windham, Brougham, and Canning — Eefuses rich sinecure —
Gibbon's tribute — Duke of Argyll's — Majority in new Parliament.
William Pitt was born at Hayes, ' in the best bedroom,
probably the same in which his father died,' on May 28,
B
t4

XIV PITT
THE EAEL OF CLAEE ... ... To face p. 2i9
Prom a portrait by H. D. Hamilton in the Irish National-
Portrait Gallery, purchased at the Mount Shannon sale
in 1888.
THE EIGHT HONOUEABLE HENEY GEATTAN . . „ 280
Prom mezzotint by Hodges, in Irish National Portrait
GaUery , from portrait by C. G. Stuart.
LOED CASTLEEEAGH  „ 302
From mezzotint by Turner, in Irish National Portrait
Gallery, from -portrait by Sra Thomas Lawrence in
Londonderry Souse, with replica at Windsor Castle.
THE EIGHT HONOUEABLE WILLIAM PITT, MT. 30 „ 332
From, portrait by Gainbborough Dupont, by permission of

PITT
SOME CHAPTERS OF HIS LIFE AND TIMES

CHAPTEE I
PITT's EAELY LIFE
William Pitt's birth — ^Early delicacy^ — His father — Mr. Wilson, his first
tutor — Lady Chatham's letters to Mr. Wilson, 1765-1775^ — First refer
ence to William in the letters — His taste always for public life —
Sajdng when his father made a peer — Chatham's training of William
• — His affection for bim — William learned with ease — Tastes — Private
theatricals — Tragedy of ' Laurentius ' — Dumaresque's account of it —
His lines on ' Coombe Wood ' — Admitted to Pembroke Hall — Dr.
Pretyman — ' Chatham Correspondence ' — His mother's letter — IUness
at Cambridge — ^Letters of his mother to Mr. Wilson — To WUliam at
Cambridge — From him to his mother — His first letters to Pretyman —
His rooms at Cambridge — Takes his degree — Continues to reside
there — His friends there — Visits to London — To House of Lords —
Death of Chatham- — ^WiUiam's letter to Pretyman — His sister Harriot's
reference to him — His power of putting trouble aside — ^Lord Liver
pool's opinion on the subject — Wilberforce's — Slender fortune — CaUed
to Bar — Westem Circmt — Practice and chance of success — Stood for
Cambridge University — Defeat — Eeturned for Appleby — First speech
— Estimates of Lord North, Fox, Burke, and Selwyn — Eefases any
' subordinate ' office — Thus separated from Fox — Shelburne succeeds
Eockingham — Pitt Chancellor of the Exchequer — Coalition Ministry —
Defeat — Action of George III. — Pitt Prime Minister — Mrs. Crewe's
description of his Ministry — He bides his time — ^Dundas — Lord
Temple — Curiosity of country — Soon showed his powers — Judgments
of Windham, Brougham, and Canning — Eefuses rich sinecure —
Gibbon's tribute — Duke of Argyll's — Majority in new Parliament.
William Pitt was born at Hayes, ' in the best bedroom,
probably the same in which his father died,' on May 28,
B

2 PITT
1759, ' the year which was, perhaps, the most glorious
and eventful in his father's life.' ^
He was very delicate and very precocious, dear to
both parents, but the idol of his father, 'the great
Commoner.' Every care was taken with his education —
the father, however, being the chief guide and director,
although the Eev. Edward Wilson was a capable and
honest tutor.
Of his early life we have now a fair record, and Lord
Stanhope, in his most exceUent Life, has told some of
the stories which survive, and given all the information
that was then available. Lady Chatham's ^ letters to
Mr. Wilson, his first tutor, have since come to the pos
session of the present Lord Stanhope, and give much
additional information. His connection with the family
began when William Pitt was only six, and the corre
spondence opens with the following short letter, show
ing that the then dinner-hour of the great Commoner
was three ! Hayes : Wednesday night, 1765.
Mr. Pitt and Lady Chatham send their compliments to
Mr. Wilson, and will be very glad to have the pleasure of seeing
him to-morrow (being Thursday) at dinner if it is convenient to
him. They dine at three o'clock.
Thus commenced a Ufelong friendship between
Lady Chatham and this excellent clergyman, and the
following letter shows how she and their father looked
to him for information about all the children :
' Lord Stanhope's Life of Pitt, i. 2.
2 Lady Chatham was the sister of Lord Temple and G. GrenvUle.
Her spelling is throughout preserved.

PITT'S EAELY LIFE 3
North End : Tuesday, July 29, 1766.
Sir, — Mr. Pitt and I were greatly pleased with the accounts
which your letter brought us yesterday, and figure to ourselves
the delight the young folks must have received from the un
expected incident of the American Chiefs, and the surprise of
honest little John at being so extraordinarily addrest.
We both admire and applaud him very much for his not
chusing to risk the original of so pecular a performance. It
seems like something dropt from the clouds for their enter
tainment, for an odder event I think cou'd not well happen.
Our satisfaction is very great in finding that the ardour to
excell prevails so happily amongst your pupils. Pray let them
know how much it rejoices papa and mama to have constantly
such sweet accounts of their behaviour, which they may trust
will not be forgotten, but that they shall endeavour to please
them in return. If they persevere, I shall have no more doubts
about pretty Harriot now, for I am persuaded she must find it
ihighty agreeable to be so much commended.
Many tender loves and blessings from papa and mama to
all the dear tribe. I believe it wou'd be best to decline goiug
upon the water, the weather and altogether considered, so if you
please to make the excuse with many thanks. Anything worth
seeing that offers within reach of a ride, or of the coach, if you
and Mr. Sparry find no particular objections either of fatigue,
or breaking in too much upon business, you will go your little
party to see it. You will make our compliments to Mr. Payne,
with our acknowledgements for the trouble he gives himself. I
have no time for anything further at present than to make Mr.
Pitt's compliments to you, and repeat the pleasures your
account of the dear children gave us.
Your faithful, humble servant, Chatham.!
The next letter contains the first clear reference to
William :
' Lady Chatham so signed her name after her own and before her
husband's elevation to the peerage. She was made Baroness Chatham
on December 4, 1761, and he was created Earl of Chatham in July 1766.
B 2

PITT

Howe : August 15, 1769.
Sir, — The letter which I had the pleasure to receive from
you by Sunday's post gave a most sincere satisfaction to my
Lord and me ; and we desire you to be assured how truly we
rejoice in the dignity conferred upon you. We know how well
you merit the distinction shewn to you, and are happy in its
being acknowledged in a manner which is so agreable to you. . . .
We returned hither from Wotton, Sanday, where we had
enjoyed all together the sincere and real comforts and pleasures
which flow from family union and concord. We are much
obliged to you for participating so kindly in the happiness
which it has diffused amongst us. We propose setting out from
here Thursday morning, and mean to breakfast at Hayes the
Saturday moming following. Pray give papa's and mama's
tenderest love to William. I will reserve to the time of seeing
him the pleasure of telling him what a sweet correspondent I
think him, and how diverting I found his last letter. I know
he will readily excuse mama, as the difference in time will be
so small, and that the delay will be more than made up to him
by our happy meeting. Be so good as to remember me to Mrs.
Sparry, and inform her of our intended motion, which I believe
I may trust she will not be sorry to hear of.
I am, sir, your most faithful, humble servant,
Hester Chatham.
William's mind and tastes readUy went in the
direction of public life, and when in 1766 his father
was made a peer, he said, " I am glad I am jiot the
eldest son ; I want to speak in the House of Commons
Hke papa.' Lord Chatham apphed himself to train him
for pubhc speaking, to read weU, to be careful in elocu
tion, to translate — always using and sometimes pausing
for the right word — and to cultivate the power of rapid
and appropriate arrangement of thoughts and topics.
He made him constantly recite from Shakespeare and

PITT'S EAELY LIFE 5
Milton. He directed him to study the style and lan
guage of Barrow and Bolingbroke, and must often from
his own experience have given this son, with the
strangely mature mind, a thousand hints to reach ora
torical excellence, which he heeded not only as the
words of a loving father, but as the precepts of a great
master. Chatham was deeply impressed by his son. When
the boy was only fourteen, in writing to Lady Chatham,
he referred to WiUiam as the ' Philosopher ' and the
' Counsellor,' and in writing to his son he used terms
showing his great love : ' The hope and comfort of my
life ; ' ' sweet boy ; ' ' rgiy loved William ; ' ' my noble,
amiable boy.' ^
William Pitt learned with ease and rapidity, and at
an exceptionally early age had acquired a wide know
ledge of books and a considerable education. It is not
recorded that he had any great Uking for games or
sports. He rode, however, at Cambridge, and Lord
Wellesley says ' he was very fond of exercise on horse
back, and when in the country frequently joined the
hounds of his neighbourhood,' and he may have done so
as a boy. He took out game licences for himself when
Prime Minister,^ and liked partridge shooting, and it is
possible he began it in his youth. He was fond of the
country, and took an interest in farming, and at Hol-
wood looked personaUy after his trees and gardens.
Addington (afterwards the Speaker and his successor)
saw WiUiam as a boy taking part in private theatricals ;
^ Chatham Correspondence, iv. pas,
2 A licence for 1799 is in the Bevesby MSS,

6 PITT
but even his father was not impressed, and said he was
" an awkward youth, who acquitted himself with re
markable stiffness.' Too much of that stiffness, in
public, at aU events, marked his whole life.
Lord Stanhope mentions that young Fitt wrote a
tragedy, ' Laurentius,' which was acted in 1772 ; but
from a paper ^ of Dr. Dumaresque (who was ' indulged
with the liberty of reading it after he had seen it
acted '), addressed to Lord Ailesbury, it would appear
that it was the joint work of the Pitt chUdren, or at aU
events the three elder — Lord Pitt, Lady Hester, and
WiUiam, the latter, no doubt, the largest contributor.
The paper is described as an ' imperfect and super
ficial account of a play written and acted by very
young persons in their immature years. . . . The play
was written whoUy by the five children of the late Earl
of Chatham, viz. John Lord Pitt, WiUiam Pitt, and
Lady Hester Pitt, with the two youngest. Lady Hariot
and John. They held regular meetings for their joint
consultations, and contrived it so that they and they
only should have their several parts to act. . . . Lady
Hester was the Queen, and Mr. William Pitt the faithful
Minister. ... It may be presumed that the greater share
of praise may be adjudged to William. . . . The late
Mr. James Grenville, uncle to the authors, told me he
wondered how such young folks could be so exact in
observing the unities.'
The play was pohtical ; and Wilham Pitt was never
anything but a poUtician.^ He was the son of a poli-
^ Pretyman MSS.
' In the National Beview for May 1892 are some verses on ' Coombe

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 7
tician, and he was reared as a politician. The am
bition he set before himself, and that was steadily set
before him, was to foUow his father's footsteps into and
in the House of Commons.
He entered Cambridge University before he wasll 4,,
fourteen, and was admitted to Pembroke HaU ^ on I
AprU 26, 1773. The foUowing extract from a letter off |
Mr. Wilson to his wife, dated December 2, 1772, is i*
interesting :
I could not have acted with more prudence than I have
done in the afiaire of Pembroke Hall. Mr. Pitt is not the child
his years bespeak him to be. He has now all the understanding
of a man, and is, and will be, my steady friend thro' life.
Wood,' with the foUowing note : ' The MS. from which these lines are
printed has been sent to us by a granddaughter of the first Earl of Har-
rowby, to whom Pitt presented the original. It is beUeved that they and
the juvenUe tragedy mentioned in Lord Stanhope's Life were Pitt's only
essays in verse.' There are fifteen stanzas, and the two foUowing con
tain the only references to love and ' Platonic dreams ' :
' 11. But soon informed with nobler powers,
I sought thy awful gloom ;
There frequent soothed my evening hours
That best deceiver. Love.
13. Then patriot passions fired my breast
With freedom's glowing themes.
And Virtue's image rose confest
In bright platonic dreams.'
' The entry in the admission book of Pembroke Hall is as follows :
' HonorabUis GuUehnus Pitt, nobUissimi D°' Comitis de Chatham FUius
natu secundus natus apud  28 Maij, 1759, anno setatis suse Decimo
quarto nondum completo, admissus est ad mensam sociorum sub tutori-
bus May et BeU, magistris, Ap. 26, 1773.' According to the usage,
the name would be entered six months before beginning residence.
Tumer had become a tutor in June 1773 ; and somewhat later Pretyman
also became a tutor. Dr. Searle, the honoured Master of Pembroke
HaU, showed me Lord Chatham's original letter of October 3, 1773,
introducing his son to the senior tutor (Mr. Turner), and also the original
draft, with many alterations and amendments, of Lord WeUesley's well-
known letter of November 22, 1836. This interesting draft was presented
to the CoUege by the Duke of Devonshire.

8 PITT
He has sound principles, a grateful and liberal heart, and talents
unequaVd, He will go to Pembroke, not a weak boy to be
made a property of, but to be admir'd as a prodigy ; not to hear
lectures, but to spread light. His parts are most astonishing
and universal. He will be fully qualified for a wrangler before
he goes, and be an accomplish'd classick, mathematician, his
torian, and poet. This is no exaggeration, beKeve me, but as
it will one day shew itself fully.
His life at the University is fairly known, and is to
some extent recorded by Lord Stanhope and Bishop
Tomline. The acquaintance of the latter, then Dr.
Pretyman, a distinguished tutor of the University, was
at once made by Pitt, and a close and warm friendship
began, which lasted unbroken through life. He learned
much under the wise guidance of Pretyman and another
eminent tutor of the college, Mr. Turner. His career
at Cambridge was marked by extraordinary propriety
and regularity of conduct. His health necessitated
great care and quiet, but his keen and active brain
ever kept him working.
The ' Chatham Correspondence ' ^ contains several
letters of WiUiam Pitt to his father and mother, and
from them to him, during his University life. They show
how he passed his time, how steadily he watched public
affairs, and what a close and affectionate interest he
took in his father's hfe and speeches. The foUowing
letter and its postscript show how the parents addressed
their young son at that period of his life, and is fuU of
interest : Burton Pynsent ^ : Oct. 9, 1773.
Thursday's post brought us no letter from the dear traveller.
We trust this day will prove more satisfactory. It is the happy
' Chatham Correspondence, iv. = Pretyman MSS.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 9
day that gave us your brother, and will not be less in favour
with all here if it should give us about four o'clock an epistle
from my dear William. By that time I reckon we shall be
warm in our cups, and shall not fail to pour forth with renewed
joy grateful libations over the much-wished tidings of your
prosperous progress towards your destination. We compute
that yesterday brought you to the venerable aspect of .Alma
Mater, and that you are invested to-day with the Toga virilis.
Your race of manly virtue and useful knowledge is now begun,
and may the favour of Heaven smile upon the noble career.
Little Beckford was really disappointed at not being in time
to see you : a good mark for my young vivid friend. He is just
as much compounded of the elements of air and fire, or he was.
A due proportion of terrestrial solidity will, I trust, come, to make
him perfect. How happy, my loved boy, is it that your mama
and I can tell ourselves there is at Cambridge one without a
beard, ' and all the elements so mix'd in Mm,' that nature might
stand up and say, This is a man,
I now take leave for to-day, not meaning this for what you
call a regular letter, but a flying thought that wings itself
towards my absent William. Honors are ready, and all is
birthday, Bradshaw has shone this auspicious morning in a very
fine speech of congratulation, but I foresee his sun sets weeping
in the fatal West — that is, a fatal bowl of punch will before
night quench this Luminary of Oratory.
Adieu, again and again, sweet boy, and if you acquire health
and strength every time I wish them to you, you will be a second
Samson, and, what is more, will, I am sure, keep your hair.
Every good wish attends your kind fellow-traveller and chumm,
nor will he be forgot in our flowing bowls to-day.
The foUowing in Lady Chastham's handwriting is
added :
If more could be said expressive of feeling, my dearest dear
boy, I would add a letter to this epistle ; but, as it is composed,
I will only sign to its expressive contents,
Your fond and loving mother,
Hester Chatham.

10 PITT
Shortly after the receipt of this letter he became
seriously unweU at Cambridge, and the foUowing letters ^
from Lady Chatham to Mr. WUson show the deep
anxiety of his parents, how keenly they noted and how
much they appreciated the affectionate care he received
all through his iUness, and their joy when he was able
to return to their own home : Burton Pynsent : Oct. 29, 1773.
How slow we thought Thursday in arriving you, my dear
sir, who so well know what our feelings must have been iu the
interval of anxious expectation, will easily figure to yourself.
We are very thankful to the gracious God for the comfort your
welcome and kind letter brought us, which answered all we
could reasonably hope in the time. The material point being
right, ofthe nights being good since the attack, etc., we indulge
the pleasure of thinking that, treated as he is, with such
attentive care, he will be enabled, without risk, to make out his
stay for the intended term, which, if it may be, is most desir
able, as the reverse would be, to the sensibility of his mind, a
sad mortification. There is nothing, except our fears, that we
have felt more than the dissappointment it will have been to
him to find himself checked in the pleasing and prosperous
career he was in. However, we flatter ourselves that the lively
and agreable society which he partakes of in the company of
yourself, with the addition of Dr. Glynn (his new agreable
medical friend and admirer), will dissipate considerably the
gentleman's quick reflections on that subject, and prevent too
deep an impression beeing made by them. But in this even, as
in everything else that concerns him, till the fra/me is more
equal to the mind which lodges in it, moderation in all points,
whether of business, idleness, or amusement, must be his
governing maxim. With this rule he will know as much as the
wise, have as much rest as he can support without being tired
of it, and be as well diverted as those who study nothing else. . . .
If you think we feel our distance from Pembroke Hall you will,
' Lord Stanhope's papers.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 11
indeed, think very right. Suspence, where so dear an interest
is concerned, is cruel ; and the loss of seeing our loved boy in a
convalescent state most sensible. We are, notwithstanding,
happy in the conviction that it is only the pain of suspense
that would be avoided, and the joy of being present with the
object of our fears and cares, that would be the gain ; for as to
every advantage of attention and affectionate prudent manage
ment, if we were ten times present they could not be increased.
God bless your care and endeavours, and may you be repaid by
the perfect health of your dear patient, which I know would be
more to your happiness than anything else I can wish for you
in return for all your anxiety and trouble. The Academy
desire to join in affectionate compliments to you. My Lord
writes by the same post with this to our invalide to recomend
the favourite system of moderation, and has done it in terms of
cheerfulness which nobody knows how to do so well as himself,
and which, whilst they will make William smile, will at the
same time inforce the wisdom of pursuing the advice conveyed.
I am, my dear sir, ever most faithfully yours,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : Tuesday night, Nov. 2, 1773.
We have abundant thanks to render, my dear sir, to the
gracious God for the comfort you have been enabled to give us
upon the situation of our loved William. We do trust that we
may indulge pleasing hopes that the worst is past, and that this
sad mortification and cruel alarm will pay in the future (as we
are given to hope) for the suffering and anxiety produced by
them. Our sense of your prudent care and most affectionate
attention on this trying occasion cannot be expressed equal to
the degree of our feelings. Be assured that we entertain the
strongest idea of it. Dr. Addington and Mrs. Sparry (not the
most easily contented on this matter) both do ample justice to
the whole of your proceeding. . . . Dr. Addington has been
very full in his kind letter to us on the state of our dear invalide,
and is very strong and direct against the idea of removing his
and Dr. Glynn's patient to London, in which I mean to tell Mrs.
Sparry we are perfectly agreed with him, and to desire her to

12 PITT
make herself easy with a determination which he thinks of the
utmost importance. We trust in God that the advances, tho'
slow, to recovery will reconcile her to this decision, will render
the stay full of satisfaction to yourself. We must beg you to
present our compliments to Dr. Glyn, and much more than
compliments. My Lord and I are truly sensible of all the value
of his most attentive care; and I must not omit that Dr.
Addington has done ample justice to the skill, as well as to the
very kind attention, of Dr. Glyn to his patient ; and you have
given us the additional pleasure of that in inclination, too, he is
far from indifferent to his young acquaintance. . . . The first
letter that I writ in answer to your first account of this mortify
ing illness you will have seen was writ with a view of it being
shewed, had any anxiety from him made it necessary. The
weakness since described made it, I imagine, a precaution that
was of no consequence. . . .
I am, dear sir, with great truth,
Your obliged faithful friend and servant,
Hester Chatham.
My Lord and the Home Accademy desire kind compliments.
You will give the message which will best answer to what is
judged right to our most loved boy. Burton Pynsent : Nov. 6, 1773.
Thursday post, my dear sir, disappointed our impatient hope
of receiving a further account of our loved William. No letter
from any body at Pembroke Hall. Happily for some relief to
our anxious suspense in consequence, a line in a letter of Mrs.
 to Hannah mention'd her having that afternoon heard
from Cambridge the good news of Mr. Pitt's being better, and
that Mrs. Sparry and her husband were all there. From this
we derived comfort, and a sort of trust that matters were going
on well, though not with so full a confidence as to make us feel
quite easy under this circumstance. . . . The hearts of Burton
Pynsent are with you all continually, and to the principal
object of our tender care. We add also care for the zealous and
affectionate friends that give such unwearied attention to all
that good nursing calls for. We continue to support ourselves

PITT'S EAELY LIFE 13
with patience and calmness, but cannot be, as you may think,
anything beyond that. I writ both to you and the excellent Pam
by the conveyance of Thursday, and have, therefore, nothing any
way material to say at present. May you have been able to
send us by your latest account such intelligence as may give us
cause for the expression of much happiness and joy, when I
write by the next post. The weather is mild, and we hope it
will so continue, vrithout being attended with so much wet, till
the dear Accademician may be sufficiently recruited to take the
advantage of it for his return, which I shall leave him to judge
what degree of pleasure it will bestow on those who delight so
much in the society of their dearly loved William. Every wish
for further comfort and satisfaction go alway with this letter to
the little company of Pembroke.
Your faithful friend and affectionate servant,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1773.
Dear Sir, — You will not wonder that our patience is but
indifferently satisfied with accounts that seem, in our opinion, to
keep at a great distance the prospect of our dear boy's return.
I have no idea that there can be strength to justifie a thought
of removal till apetite is what it used to be, and that the
stomach can bear solid food. The not having been out of bed
when last you writ indicates what great caution must be used
about exposing him to the air. And this throws us back in the
hopes we had begun to entertain ; but though this is a diss-
apointment to our eager vrishes, yet we are thankful for the
advances which have been made towards a more perfect re
covery, and rejoice extremely in the history of the amusement
of the day, which you may tell William are of the right bel Air
sort, and much properer for a fashionable collegiate than the
pouring upon dull books. It is a great satisfaction that the
admirable Pam holds out well, if well without an epithet may
be thought to signifie quite well. All our wishes are carried on
now to Tilley's return to-morrow from the post, when we do
most exceedingly hope a more clear degree of comfort and
pleasure wUl be conveyed to us by the letter we shall be to

14 PITT
receive from your obliging and kind attention to our anxious
solicitude. . . .
Your faithful and affectionate friend,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : Nov. 22, 1773.
Your last letter, my dear sir, did not keep pace with the
pleasing expectations which had been raised by your former of
the post before. We had with great joy adopted the idea that
amendment was begining to advance with quicker progress,
and that the gain of strength in every four-and-twenty hours
would be with an increased proportion. These flattering hopes
received a cold damp by seeing that it had been thought neces
sary to eat the dinner in bed, and that the degree of weakness
was such as to render the want of shoes no inconvenience. I
must own that the circumstance affected me very much, as I
don't know how to reckoncile that part of dress being omitted,
when he was to set up out of his bed, unless his poor feet have
been blistered in the course of this sad illness. I seem now to
myself to have lost sight of the near prospect that had been
flatteringly offer'd to us of his setting out to return westward.
My mind is continually tumed to the dear object of your affec
tionate care, and many a painful reflexion occurs, as you will
well believe. The misfortune of distance is most sensible, and
makes one feel the wounding uncertainty that results from it.
I pray Heaven that the account of this evening may be of the
sort to quiet the present anxiety of my thoughts. Most happily,
my Lord sees in a less distressing manner the situation described
by you, and cleaves to the more cheering part of your letter,
where you say all is going on as well as can be expected. For
my part, when I put particulars together, I cannot find they
make good so comfortable an assurance. We are struck ex
tremely with the generous, disinterested behaviour of Doctor
Glynn, and observe besides with what skill it is calculated to
give spirits and confidence to his patient. I am sure you must
be clear that we shall not omit at a proper time to make every
sort of acknowledgement to Doctor Glyn. What a gift William
has to conciliate the love of those who are once acquainted with

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 15
him ! I am persuaded that had he no belongin,gs the doctor
wou'd exert the same friendly zeal to him. What a delight if
by-and-bye I shou'd find that all my melancholy ideas were
mistimed, and that comfort and satisfaction have shone at
Cambridge. May the Almighty grant that it may so prove !
Mr. Speke has breakfasted with us this morning, and is most
impatient to hear of his dear worthy friend's having begun his
travels in Italy — meaning Lyme. He desires most affectionate
compliments. My Lord is much better, and the rest are going
out in the coach. We have a beautiful day and a clear frost.
I don't mend my pens, I believe you think, but I hope I am
not quite unintelligible notwithstanding that, with haste added
to it. Love in great abundance from all.
Your most sincere friend and
affectionate, humble servant,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent: Monday, 29, 1773.
You will not wonder, my dear sir, that our impatient
wishes for the return of strength to your dear young friend
shou'd expose us to feel dissapointment when accounts do not
answer to them. Your kind letter to James, bringing us nothing
positive of any ground gain'd since your last, and mentioning
the continuance still of a great weakness, was somewhat morti
fying to our hopes, and a fresh check to our pleasing expecta
tions. Tho' don't imagine we flattered ourselves with the
idea that you wou'd be able to set out as early as has been
suggested to us you wou'd. We have always made allowances
for the kind purpose of our friends in bringing nearer to our
view than was exactly the case what wou'd give comfort and
joy to us. My Lord and I both agree in thinking it quite right
not to undertake such an enterprise as the journey hither till
sufficient trial has been made whether there is strength enough
to give success to the attempt. We therefore desire you will
not be in a hurrey to remove, but stay to the longest time that
Doctor Glyn and Doctor Addington shall judge necessary from
the result of the effect of the airings, which, long before this
can reach your hands, we trust will have been tried. We don't

16 PITT
imagine that the plan intended is that William shou'd make
any long halt in Bond Street. At least, so Doctor Addington
has given us to understand, and, with him, we think that there
are a thousand objections to it. However, we are passive, and
if it shou'd from any change be thought right, or that it shou'd
be necessary for the tranquillity and comfort of his kind and
affectionate friends and guardians (yourself and Mrs. Sparry),
we agree. Inclos'd, my dear sir, you will find what I am sure
must be become quite necessary — a draft on Messers. Coutts for
lOOZ. With respect to Dr. Glyn, you will, if you please, do
what you wou'd naturally do, and we shall see upon conferring
together what further steps may be proper to be taken. Some
gout still remains, but nothing more than the remnant of the
last fit, which continues going off kindly. You know how many
wishes attend ye, and I hope are assured of tbe truth with which
I am, dear sir. Your affectionate and faithfull Hester Chatham.
A whole collection of kind loves to dear WUliam.
Burton Pynsent : Dec. 1, 1773.
The last Cambridge mail, my dear sir, brought us treasures
of comfort and joy. The prosperous manner in which dear Wil
liam was advancing in his recovery, and the important trial of
the chaise having been made with such complete success, gave
us the possible satisfaction on the article of health. The favor
of Doctor Browne's most obliging and delightful letter to my
Lord inspired a heartfelt pleasure of another sort. The account
it gives of the prosperity of our charming boy's behaviour, and
the opinion with which Doctor Browne honors him in conse
quence, fills all our wishes for him. Our satisfaction is in-ex
pressible that, in the little time allowed him by his mortifying
illness to manifest his disposition and powers, he shou'd be
happy enough to have given such favorable impressions of
himself, and to have rendered partial to him those persons who
honor him with attention and care. The predictions framed
of him are flattering in the highest degree. You will believe
with what an overflowing joy we read the sentiments Doctor

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 17
Browne conveyed in his letter. I must add that we read it, too,
with the highest admiration, which I assure you wou'd not have
been less had we not at all been interested in the subject, for,
independant of what we feel from it, it is so truly fine that we
must always have given an equal praise to it. My Lord is ex
tremely sorry that the present lameness of his gout obliges him
to defer the great satisfaction he shou'd have in acknowledging
it, which he desires you will explain, with his best compliments,
to Doctor Browne.
I begin to be in some doubt, since the propitious success of
the driving, whether you will not have been set out on your slow
wheels, and begin your journey before my last of the 28th can
have reached you, which enclos'd materials I imagine to be
highly necessary for the prosecution of your travels, a draft on
Messers. Coutts for lOOZ. If you shou'd not have received it, we
figure to ourselves you can only beg your way. Luckily, you
have a tolerably clever party, and so may have some chance of
success. . . . Ever yours faithfully,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : Dec. IB, 1773.
My dear Sir, — I have the greatest pleasure in the world in
making myself the hand to convey to you the happiness you
vnll receive from the knowledge of our dear William's safe
arrival with his little convoy of faithful attendants. Thursday,
at somewhat past two, the joyfuU meeting took place with
mother and Sister Hester in the High Street of Langfort — a
street which for the future I shall visit with far greater
pleasure than if its walls were built by PaUadio and conse
crated by ancient fame. This modern event will render it
never to be forgotten by those who shared in the inexpressible
satisfaction of that moment. The sensation of father and
brothers and sister, and home, were not less lively and touching
than those felt by us, as you will easily believe. Happiness
spread itself through Burton House. Need you be assured
that in the midst of it Mr. Wilson was remembered with every
sentiment due to his zealous attachment and to his affectionate C

18 PITT
care of his young friend. It was impossible to have a higher
sense than my Lord and myself have on this ocassion, of which
we shall most certainly always preserve the most gratefull
remembrance, and shall be truly happy to be able to pay it by
something more essential than words. Now let me tell you
that we found the looks and whole appearance of your sweet
boy much better than we had expected. He bore his joumey
without fatigue, mended on the road, and has slept well, eat
well, and been in excellent spirits to the present writing. He
wou'd have writ himself to you, but I insisted upon the office,
and he employs his pen in giving an account of his arrival to
Doctor Browne and Doctor Glynne. . . . Most affectionate com
pliments from hence to you.
Your faithfull friend and affectionate servant,
Hester Chatham.
The foUowing to her son is full of a mother's tender,
anxious care :
Hayes : Wednesday, Sept. 14, 1774.
A gloomy skie and premature winter admonishes, my dearest
William, the careful minds of father and mother to convey to
you a few hints on what the season may require, and which
otherwise, perhaps, while you look through the clouds and trace
the mystic spheres, might escape your attention. We wish you
to think of the guards that cold and damp render necessary,
and, of course, not wise to neglect, such as buttoning up against
the rigours of the north-east, putting on stouter shoes and
warmer stockings, against humidity of damp, raw air, and
keeping it out of one's chambers by occasional fires. Also to
have a proper regard to the influence of night air, and not to
expose one's self to the chance of its disagreable effects. These
are the grand points recomended. You can extend your
observation to the different branches that belong to each, if any
there be. We trust, my loved WilHam, a kind attention to our
ease, with the noble desire of preserving the ability to pursue
your elevated course of action, as well as scientific knowledge
will engage you not to slight such simple advice. With a
regular practice of these sage rules health will be preserved

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 19
and the fields of leaming wUl be play fields to our excellent
youth. Enough on this. Let me now express with how much
pleasure my Lord and I read Mr. Wilson's letter of this morning.
The sentiments convey'd by it naturally afforded much satisfac
tion to us both, who will always find a real happiness in being
able any way to contribute to his. It is flattering to know that
expression of our sense of his merits can contribute to it. He
may be assured that it will be lasting, and ever accompanied
with a sincere desire to serve him. This letter will, I believe,
but just catch him with you. Both of you feel, I daresay, the
near approach of the parting moment. The compensation of
both will be from the fame of your good govemment of your
self, which will reflect back to Mr. Wilson and forward on you,
my much-admired boy. You will scarce believe that I regret
the time when I am writing to you, but I want to go and make
my compliments to Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Giffin, the celebrated
Giffy, and stout Gloucester, who are all drinking tea with your
sisters. . . . Many kind loves to your sweet self, with many com
pliments to Mr. Wilson, finishes the present, and I remain
always, my dearest William, Your most affectionate mother,
Hester Chatham.
The next letter is to Mr. Wilson :
Hayes : Thursday, Feb. 20, 1775.
... I know nothing in general of Mr. William's correspond
ence and yours, but I think he will not have omitted to tell you
that he has been indulged with the supreme pleasure of being
in the House of Lords on some of the most important debates.
I need not tell you what gainers the ladies at horae have been
by it. You know the gentleman's accuracy well enough to
make that a clear point to you. He has made a very good ten
days' campaign in London besides, and so has your younger
friend, Mr. James, tho' not of so long a date. They continue
the agreable habit of attracting favorable remarks from what
ever company they happen to fall into, and so return to their
learned avocations happy and pleas'd. Our young Viscountess •
takes to her London life with great propriety, and is enough to
' Her eldest daughter. Lady Mahon. c 2

20 PITT
make those vain who belong to her, which you must hear with
some satisfaction. My companion, lively Madame Harriot,
grows very tall, but as she grows pleasing and amiable in the
same proportion it is perfectly well. You see I write to you in
the persuasion that these particulars of your former pupils will
be as interesting as ever, and spread a pleasure through your
new dwelling. You wou'd be greatly edified, I am sure, in
seeing the new works of our Homer, who, for the purpose of
making water meadows, has formed a regular river of the Bone
from the Bridge to the Alders, the effect of which is, even at
present, delightful!, and when my Lord comes to shape it more
exactly by the line of grace it will be enchanting.
The mother's ^ letters to her son WUliam show how
she strove to keep him informed on all home and other
matters that she thought would interest a student at
Cambridge. Hayes : Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1774.
If my sketch of the rural celebration at which we assisted,
my dear William, afforded you any entertainment and furnished
some degree of satisfaction to that busy thing called curiosity, I
am most agreeably paid for the t/rouble of employing my pen.
By your answer to me I perceive that between the accomplish
ments of learned and genteel you have included whatever is to
be ranged under classes too extensive to be embraced by most
mortal powers. Some you have known come pretty near, per
haps, to such wonderful beings, but a love of virtue, passion for
right, and an active, energetic mind are enough to compose a
total greatly to be approved. Your imagination is so very fertile
that it must have a line given it, or else what deserves to be
admired would lose by sad comparison. You will unriddle this
mysterious information better than your memory served you to
1 There are exceUent portraits of Lord and Lady Chatham at OrweU
Park. William Pitt strongly resembled his mother, but I could not see
in any of his likenesses any trace of his father's features.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 21
discover what I meant when I gave you the account of my
having read the heroic epistle with the postscript. I think by
this time you will have observed that the correspondence be
tween the home party here and Cambridge is a little infected
with the deadening influence of the diminution of our gay com
panions and their lively conversation. We seem more engaged,
and to be mixed more in what belongs to the world, than when
we dwelt upon our distant hUl at Burton Pynsent, but some
how or other nothing that is not too trifling or too serious for
the matter of a little occurs. We are all now upon the brink of
expectation as to what will be the event of the Kentish meeting
to-morrow at Maidstone for the nomination of the future repre
sentatives, which of all things appears, at this present time, to
be the most unsettled from the particular circumstances of the
country itself, and of the leading persons in it. I hope you
read with pleasure how our long-formed cncketters beat Hamp
shire out and out. The D. of D''" laboured in the field vrith
the most unremitting order. F. assures us that victory was
secured by the deeds of his Grace and one other equally stout
and skilful champion. If the papers have told you that P. Cam
den has been ill they will have told you but too true. He has
had repeated attacks of cramp in his stomach, and they have
been followed by a jaundice, of which he continues to be ex
tremely out of order. My Lord has seen him two or three times.
You would not suppose that visiting was so much a fashion with
us that my Lord has been forced to invite some of his neighbours
to take a farmer's dinner with us in order to make a meeting
certain. Mr. and Mrs. Townshend, of Chiselhurst, have been
of the number. You will see what a happy contagion has ex
tended itself from the capital to Hayes. What will you not
expect after this ? I suppose my lord should become Macaroni,
and I a [illegible^, which, considering my present shape, would
not be less extraordinary than his growing into the former.
We are at present under the serious contemplation of a journey
to Stowe, and I am rather inclined to think that unless gout
declares a veto, it will take place soon. Having named gout,
you will not wonder if the doctor's idea should present itself

22 PITT
next to me. He is at his farm in Devonshire, from whence he
has made a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Hood at Lynn. He is in high
spirits, having just carried a cause that confirms a claim of sole
right of common way important to his estate, and which was
disputed by a litigious parishioner. He enquires with the
warmth of an ordinary friend of my loved William. I gave
him yesterday a good account of your health, and, by way of
confirmation, informed him you were courting all the ladies of
Parnassus at once with a lover's ardour. I hope I rather
boasted, for I must own I think the number would be too great
for any prudent youth at once, I trust I need not say a serious
word to my ardent boy to prevail with him to suit his scientific,
historic, poetic march to the degree of his youthful strength, or
to engage him to remember that losing of time is gaining in the
strictest sense for him. Pam has not failed to address her
Wednesday's enquiry to Mrs. Wilson. We have the happiness
to hear, in return, that you are perfectly well. The greatest
news from Homer's Fields is that we are going to convert two
bad horses into one good one. Robina's bay is come with Pear,
and we shall part with limping and flying Algebra. To make
the acquisition will be pleasure, if not profit, but we hope to
unite both, if people prove good jockeys.
Eeceive, my dearest William, from father, mother and
sisters as much love and affection as words can convey. Your
faithful friend Pam desires you to accept of her zeal for your
health and happiness. Pray make the kindest compliments
from each of our society to Mr. Wilson. I hope he is proof
against the strength ofthe Peacock's shoulder."
(No signature. Franked by Lord Chatham.) Hayes : Sept. 21, 1774.
I was extremely pleased with your amiable letter, my dear
William, but since the contents would not admit of your having
any doubts of that being the consequence, I should not write
only to assure you of it. My present view is to send you the
1 Pretyman MSS,

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 23
enclosed paper, the original of which came accidentally to my
hands. We think that certainly it belongs to you by right, and
are great admirers of all the fine things it records. We know
your great modesty, and therefore do not wonder you never have
arrogated them to yourself, though for my part I own I think
you must sometimes have boasted of them. It is true that when
people are so superior (as it is proved the Parson must be) who
performed all those wonders that they are never apt to talk of
their own doings, and that accounts for our not having heard
you make any brags upon the subject ; for otherwise nobody
acquainted with you but Would agree that you were naturally
born to such high deeds. Let your modesty be as great as it
will, I am sure you will have infinite pride and satisfaction in
it, and entirely forgive the generous paneygeric having taken
such liberties with your name of Willia/m Pitt, I think your
cousin candidate, with all his fresh-blown honours full upon him,
would feel his vanity still increased by the sense of having a
claim in blood with such an extraordinary person. We have a
great respect for the disinterested and patriotic spirit of the
honest victor of Cambridge ; it seems as if those harmonious
daughters, the friends of liberty, to whom you offer daily your
vows for inspiring knowledge, had infused a part of their sacred
fire into those heroes of public zeal. Mr. Byde and Mr. Muk
have our good wishes for success on the decisive day. Mr.
Wilson will, most probably, have notified to you his safe arrival
at Pickhurst Green. A rendezvous had been appointed by Mr.
Wilson in town on the Sunday morning, but to prove himself
as well versed in the school of attention as she, with a preven
tive gallantry stole home in the dusk of the evening, and did
not expose the joy of meeting to the public eye as before. On
Saturday moming I found him, much to my surprise, at break
fast with his friend, Mr. James, and your two sisters. Questions
followed one another very fast on the subject of the dear person
he left behind. The answers were such as gave full satisfaction,
and made father and mother admire and love their excelling son
still more and more. We were happy to find that your weather
had been many degrees better than ours, and that you have

24 PITT
been able to enjoy the advantage and amusement of your horse.
I hope the same difference will still subsist, for here at least
every other day is too bad for being abroad. We feel it less
than in any former time by having so seldom any solitary time.
I am to tell you that Miss Chapman, urged by the ambition of
enjoying the honour of having the work of her skilful hand wom
by the celebrated Mr. Pitt, has already finished your waistcoat
and sent it to Hayes ; it is very much approved by those ladies
of taste, your sisters. For my Lord and myself, we have not yet
seen it nor passed our judgment upon it. Our young West
minster friend presses his point with an animation and sagacity
that I think must be crowned with success. He comes to re
cruit from his labors in our pastoral scenes, which present softer
ideas than the dirty streets of London. I conclude with many
thanks to you for the letter already named by me, and by
desiring, as well as I like it, that it may be some time before I
receive any in answer to this. A line sometimes to your sisters,
for information of your health, will be sufiicient for the satisfac
tion of all. Love in full measure from all.
Your most affectionate mother,
H. Chatham.'
Pam's duty and acknowledgements. She is well ; the rest
so, except James, and he much mended. Cash particulars
shall be settled in time. I do not yet know them from Mr.
Wilson. ^ Pretyman MSS, The whole tone of the mother's letters to this
gifted sou indicated not only respect for his precocious mind, but also that
she weU knew of his vivacity and liveliness. There is little to support
Windham's statement ' that Pitt never was a boy.' He was always fond
of round games with children, and played at speculation with the eager
ness of a child (BeU's Life of Canning), WUberforce (Life, i. 28) records
' the fomings in the garden at Wimbledon, where Pitt's overflowing
spirits carried him to every height of jest ; ' and adds : ' We found one
mormng the fruits of Pitt's earlier rising in the carefiil sowing of the
garden beds with the fragments of a dress-hat, in which Eyder had over
night come down from the opera.' His connection with the Goostree
Club did not show any want of youthful enterprise. Its twenty-five
members comprised many bright and lively yoimg men, including
Windham himself.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 25
Copy of Paper referred to above.
Copy of an inscription on a root-house at Mr. Pothill's, at
Chipstead, 1773, from whence is a view of a pyramid erected
by Sir Jeffrey Amherst at Montreal :
YONDER OBELISK
WAS EEECTED ON HIS PATEENAIi LANDS
BY
SIR GEOFFREY AMHERST
TO COMMEMORATE
THE CONQUEST GAINED IN AMEEICA.
LOSING NOT A THOUGHT ON THB PEESENT TIMES,
EEADBE,
SUPPEE THY MIND TO REVOLVE ON THAT
GLORIOUS PERIOD OP THE EEIGN OP
GEOEGE THE SECOND,
DUEING THE ADMINISTEATION OP
WILLIAM PITT,
WHEN THB UPRIGHT VIEWS OP THE
SOVEEEIGN,
JOINED TO THB WISDOM AND GEEAT ABILITIES
OP THE MINISTER,
INSPIRED
A CONPIDENCE SO POETUNATB AND UNIVEESAL
AS TO TUEN EVEN THB SPIEIT OF PAETY
INTO ZEAL FOE THE PUBLIC WELFAEB,
AND BY GIVING A TOTAL CHANGE TO OUE APPAIRS
RESCUED THIS NATION PROM THE BEINK OP EUIN.
INSCRIBED
BY A FRIEND TO VIRTUE
AND A LOVEE OP HIS
COUNTRY.
The answer of WiUiam Pitt showed, at aU events,
a grateful sense of his mother's permission for him to
defer his reply :

26 PITT Pembroke HaU : Sept. 24, 1774.
My dear Mother,^ — It is needless to tell you what pleasure I
received from your most kind letter, or to thank you for your
goodness in giving me the liberty to defer answering it. Waving
those articles, as well as the title you have indulged me with to
remain silent, I beg to address a word to you, rather than any
one else, to acknowledge my having enjoyed the pleasure
intended me from the paper you enclosed. I was charmed with
what you call the liberties taken with my name.
I shall at least be happy in a claim of blood to remember
the glories that once accompanied it ; and it vrill be my ambition
not to injure them.
Without endeavouring further to express faintly the strong
ideas that present themselves, I shall avail myself of your indul
gence to close this letter, and join to this honourable name the
pleasing title that I am, my dear mother.
Your ever-dutiful and affectionate son,
William Pitt.'
The next letter ^ is the first from his pupU to Dr.
Pretyman (according to the endorsement of the Bishop),
and is noteworthy as showing such a keen interest in
elections by a boy of fifteen : Hayes : Oct. 7, 1774.
Dear Sir, — I arrived at this place to dinner on Wednesday,
though considerably later than I intended. I had not proceeded
far from Nockerill before I discovered that one of my horses had
mistaken his business, and was harnessed to the chaise instead of
his accustomed plough. In this condition J was dragged slowly
to Epping, from thence to London. I went rapidly enough, but
when I arrived at the inn I was directed to, I learned that all
the horses were gone out canvassing for elections ; however, vrith
difficulty some were procured, and after another half-hour delay
from coaches and carts in the City I reached my journey's end
after 3 o'clock.
You arrived, I hope, at Cambridge with less delay and fewer
' Chatha/m Correspondence. ^ Pretyman MSS.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 27
stupid adventures, and did not increase your cold by giving me
the pleasure of your company. I can furnish no more news
than what the papers will have informed you of as to Westminster,
and you will also have seen the numerous advertisements from
London. They seemed to be in no bustle there when I passed
through, and there were scarce any signs of an election. I
depend on your goodness, and indeed your promise, to let
me hear how you all go on at Cambridge, and to give me an
account of the great business of election both from town and
University. Adieu, my dear Sir. Be so good as to present my best com
pliments to the master and your whole society, and believe me
Your affectionate, faithful friend, William Pitt.
The following^ is an extraordinarily formal and
verbose production from a youth of sixteen :
March 16, 1775.
My dear Sir, — Though I should in many instances feel great
pleasure in following your example, I will not do it so im
plicitly as to admit of no exception in the article of letter- writing,
because, though I am so unfortunate as not to hear from you so
often as I wish, I will not refuse myself the pleasure of writing
to you whenever I have an opportunity. I do not mean "to com
plain by this of the long intervals in our correspondence, as I
am so well acquainted with your avocations as to think myself
happy in your finding any leisure to keep it up at all ; but I
only wish not to be precluded from the privilege of thanking
you as speedily as possible for your obliging letters. You are
exceedingly kind in wishing to see me in College, and I assure
you I should be happy to rejoin your society. I shall not, how
ever, this post give you the trouble of recommending it to Bleak
to prepare my rooms immediately, though I hope before long to
apply myself to you with that view. My health has not suffered
the least this winter, and therefore you must reasonably conclude
that it will not suffer from passing the spring at Cambridge.
My inclinations will accelerate the experiment as much as pos-
' Pretyman MSS.

28 PITT
sible. I sympathise with you and the master on the straying of
the lost sheep of the Fens of Ely, whose case seems desperate, if
your various fund of sermons has not enabled you to reclaim
them. How happy must you have been made by the company
of Mr. Wilgress, whose presence will have thrown an enlivening
gleam into the parlor ! I have not had the extreme honour
and happiness of seeing him, so tbat your conjectures on that
head are groundless.
I will now come to a conclusion, and for doing so I will
make no other apology than that I have nothing to say that
could amuse you, and therefore the sooner I come to an end, the
better. Adieu, my dear Sir, then, and believe me, with great truth.
Your affectionate, humble servant,
W. Pitt.
Excuse blots and confusion in these hasty lines.
Lady Chatham plainly always wrote most tender
and motherly letters to her son, with family news and
political subjects combined, so as to suit his taste :
Hayes : Tuesday, July IB, 1775.
You will have been able but too well, my dear William, to
have accounted for my having suffered your amiable letters to re
main without being answered to this time. Would to God that
I could send you news in this that might be a compensation for
my silence ; but Heaven does not yet think fit to grant our
prayers, and send the blessing of health where it is so much
wanted. Your father for some time past has certainly had no
marks of amendment, nor is there at present any signs of gout
being in motion towards the extremities.
This throws our hopes of recovery to a greater distance, and
offers the prospect of a distressing interval. Our skilful doctor
preserves his confidence that all will be well with time, but in
low, lingering complaints it is difficult to fix the period wh.en
the relief will come. It is to no purpose to repeat how cruel
the circumstance of his illness is. The public events of every
day prove it so for his country, and everything combined together
for his family and friends. However, my dear William, let us

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 29
trust in a gracious Providence and hold fast (to borrow an ex
pression from Mr. Hood) the anchor of hope. Let us add to it
fortitude and prudence, which are the best supports and defence
against misfortunes of all sorts. I should have the greatest joy
possible in having you with me for a few days ; but having
weighed it, I think difficulties may arise in consequence which
may make it wiser to forego for the present your purpose of
coming. You may trust to my reasons being good against it,
for you have a strong friend in my inclination to persuade me
to agree to your plan, but it is certainly better to decide
against it.
Should any favourable change of circumstances happen to
make it eligible, you shall hear instantly from me. I own I
wish you could make some little excursion, as change of air and
place are good, undoubtedly, for health, and dissipate the mind
properly. Could not you get Mr. Pretyman, your friend Dr.
G., or some other person — for I name at random — to go a party
with you of four or five days, to see places that have some
thing worth seeing? Windsor, I think, you did see. You
know nobody at the other University (the Addingtons are not
there), and you would, besides, be too near Walton not to go
there, which would not be to be chose at present. If any agree
able idea that is not too expensive occurs, follow it ; that is all I
can say further. The news from Canada is of a very anxious
thought. I know, by a private letter, that your brother is with
General Carleton at Montreal (since at St. John's), and that as
for the third of June the General acted only on the defensive. I
flatter myself he will still continue to do so, as his force is very
weak in proportion to Col. Arnold, who is in possession of
Ticonderoga with fifteen hundred Provincials under his com
mand, and who has with him an engineer who has fortified the
port. As some of the Provincial Congresses have issued (as you
will have read in the papers) strong positive orders that the
Garuidians should not be molested under the severest penalties, I
trust matters vrill be kept quiet, at least till answers shall be
retumed from England to the proposals of the general Conti
nental Congress, which soon must sure arrive. What I have
been now writing to you I have not mentioned to anybody, much

30 PITT
less, your father, who is by no means strong enough for such news.
I reckon my letters will have reached your brother by this time.
He will be the judge, cfrcumstanced as he is, what will be con
sistent with his honour. You will take no notice of this subject
in your letters to anybody, as I say nothing upon it. Your
sister Harriot goes to-morrow to Chevening, to continue there
till Lady's arrival shall dislodge her, which may be the end of
this month or the beginning of next. I have great satisfaction
in her going, as she will be happy with her sister, and I can see
but very little of her. Our young noble friend, as the Doctor
calls him, wants exceedingly to come to me, since he cannot
come to my Lord. I have declined it, and wished him to write
if there was anything I could answer. I rejoice to find you
continue well. I hope you are honest in your accounts of your
self Your favourite palfrey. Nutmeg, is retumed from his
purgative feeding in appearance sound and in great spirits.
He was brought only Sunday night. I guess you will hardly
have a desfre to change, should you find him [illegible] well.
Pam has been ill, but is recovering very fast, and goes abroad.
I have given you the utmost time I can, so God bless you, my
dearest William. Your most truly loving mother, Hester Chatham.'
What do you think of an entry this moming of Mrs. L — 's
two daughters, accompanied by a page belonging to the Royal
Nursery from Kew ? I thought the ladies somewhat too free in
their visit, and so sent them dfrectly away with their gentle
man. Was not I right ?
To the Hon. William Pitt,
Pembroke Hall, Cambridge.
Pitt took his degree in 1776 in the ordinary way as
a nobleman's son, his health precluding him from
making any effort to distinguish himself at an examina
tion. He continued to live at Cambridge ^ for four
' Pretyman MSS.
" Pitt's rooms at Pembroke Hall were on the first-floor of ' F,' in Ivy
Court, and consisted of a fine large wainscoted sitting-room, occupying

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 31
years longer, his residence there lasting in aU for seven
years. During his later years there he participated in
the attractive society of the University, and made many
friendships,^ which lasted through life. He was very
bright and agreeable in society, and always ' the most
lively person in company, abounding in playful wit and
quiet repartee.'
He also occasionaUy visited London, and when there
attended the Houses of Parliament, particularly the
House of Lords, whenever his father was going to speak.
His letters to Lady Chatham describing the impres
sions his father's speeches produced are printed in the
' Chatham Correspondence,' and show the great influence
that the marveUous oratory of Chatham had on his son.
The last pathetic scene in the House of Lords found him
at his father's side, and the absence of his elder brother
gave him at the funeral of Lord Chatham the sadly
prominent position of chief mourner in the state cere
monial in Westminster Abbey. He was deeply touched
by all the incidents of that trying time, and by the
sympathy which poured in on aU sides. His letter to
Dr. Pretyman on the occasion is marked by gratitude
and dignity :
the whole width of the buUding, having windows on both sides ; and quite
a small bedroom adjoining. The rooms had been occupied by Gray, the
poet. The College has three large manuscript volumes of the poet in his
clear, beautifiU writing, having all his poems and many miscellaneous
writings, with very full and detailed notes.
' PretymamMSS. IntheBishop'smanuscriptfragmentofaLifeof Pitt
he mentions as his intimate friends at Cambridge ' Mr. EUiott, Mr. Bankes,
Lord Westmorland, Lord Euston, Mr. Pratt (Camden), Mr. Lowther
(Lonsdale), Mr. Long, and Mr. St. John.' He must also have met
there Lord Granby (Butland), a great friend, who left him 3,000?. by
his wUl, and also appointed him one of his executors and guardian to his
chUdren.

32 PITT .
Hayes : Saturday, May 16, 1778.
Dear ' Pretyman,— I am truly obliged to you for your friendly
and affectionate concern for me on this distressful occasion.
The loss I have sustained is indeed irreparable, and my feelings
in consequence are what no words can convey. At the same
time, the shock was the less dreadful as I had so long been pre
pared to expect it. It has had no bad effect on my health, and
though I know how vain it is to resist the first impressions of
sorrow, I do not suffer my mind to be dejected. Every con
sideration that can raise and support it under such afflicting
circumstances is afforded me by the public steps that have been
taken to confer the most signal honours on my poor father's
memory and the most distinguished benefits on his family. I
am doubly obliged to you for extending your friendly anxiety
to all my family, and have the comfort to tell you that they are
all in good health. You shall hear from me again as soon as I
have it in my power to determine when I may expect the satis
faction of seeing you at Cambridge. In the meantime be per
suaded that I am inexpressibly sensible to your goodness, and
am, with every sentiment of friendship and affection,
Faithfully yours, W. PlTT.2
Unfortunately, there are no letters forthcoming of
the Pitt chUdren to each other. One of the few letters*
of his youngest sister, Lady Harriot Elliott, in existence
contains some words which show that WiUiam Pitt was
careless on a subject which usually interests people a
good deal — the return of a birthday : ' To-morrow is
William's birthday. I believe he don't know it himself,
or rather does not think of it, but I could not help
talking of it to you.'
Pitt was probably enabled to overcome any in-
' Probably ' Doctor ' was accidentaUy omitted. ^ Pretyman MSS.
' Ibid. The letter is'addressed to Mrs. Pretyman, and is a good deal
frayed.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 38
capacity to be equal to his work which his health might
cause by his power of putting aside trouble and always
sleeping weU. Lord Liverpool ^ records : ' It is a
singular circumstance that I never saw any public man
who appeared so Uttle desponding, or who bore up so
firmly against misfortunes. He had, particularly, the
faculty of laying his cares aside, of amusing himself with
an idle book or a comparatively trivial conversation at
the times he was engaged in the most important business,
and I have heard him say that no anxiety or calamity
had ever seriously affected his sleep.' ^
His father's death found Pitt equipped with a weU-
stored mind ; with an ample education, including a wide
knowledge of the classics, of history, of civil law, and
political economy ; and also a splendid training for
oratory and for public life, added to a teaching which
had ever held aloft the purest and worthiest ideals — a
love for what was just and elevated, a scorn for what
was mean and sordid. Chatham left, however, with
these great endowments but a slender fortune to
WiUiam. The nation had taken care of his widow and
his eldest son, and granted 20,000^. for the payment of
his debts, but he himself had been only able to leave his
darling second son between 250Z. and 300Z. a year.* It
' Pretyman MSS. Lord Liverpool, when retuming Sir W. Farquhar's
account of his treatment of Pitt, 1795-1806.
^ WUberforce has also recorded that ' he was never hajcassed or dis
tressed by public affairs,' and also that ' his inward emotions never
clouded his temper or affected his spirits ' (Private Papers of W. Wilber
force. 1897. Fisher Unwin).
' Giffard, in his Life of Pitt, says that his fortune was 10,000Z. ; but
Wraxall says it was only 5,000?., in addition to the 3,000Z. Eutland
legacy. Pitt had on several occasions to lament the want of independent
means— on the resignation of Shelburne, on the madness of George III.
D

34 PITT
was intended that he should go to the Bar, and after
his father's death it was decided that he should, if
possible, purchase chambers in Lincoln's Inn. The
price asked for some that he liked was 1,100^., described
by the future Chancellor ofthe Exchequer as ' a frightful
sum.' The chambers were purchased with the aid of
his uncle, and he resided there for some time, occasion
aUy attending the debates in the House of Commons as
a ' stranger.' Pitt was caUed to the Bar, and joined the Westem
Circuit. He got a little business, and in the short time
that he foUowed the profession he obtained a moderate
measure of success. It is probable that if he had
given a devoted aUegiance to the law he would have
reached a high position, taking into account his
great attainments and the prestige of his name. His
Bar training must have been of use to him aU through
his life, preventing him from being frightened by law
points, although he thought very modestly of his own
legal attainments.-^ But his whole mind was turned
to politics, and his eyes were ever on the House
of Commons. Accordingly, when Parliament was dis
solved on September I, 1780, he boldly stood for the
University of Cambridge, and told his mother the re
sult in the following short letter :
in 1788, and on his own resignation in 1801 ; whUst it probably was the
principal obstacle to his seeking to become engaged in January 1797.
1 In his speech of March 12, 1801, he said : ' In truth, although bred
to a learned profession in a very early part of my life, I had but a short
acquaintance with it — enough, however, to admire the exceUence of it,
but not enough to make me despise any other system which the necessi
ties of a State may require.'

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 35
Pembroke HaU : Sept. 16, 1780.
My dear Mother, — Mansfield and Townshend have run away
with the prize, but my struggle has not been dishonourable.
I am just going to Cheveley for a day or two, and shall soon
return to you for as long as the law will permit, which will now
be probably the sole object with me.
I hope you are all well. Your ever-dutiful and affectionate W. PiTT.l
But his ' sole object ' was the House of Commons,
and accordingly within three months he was, on the
nomination of Sir James Lowther, member for Appleby,
and entered the House of Commons in January 1781.
This opened for him that great career which occu
pied all the rest of his life.
One can readily realise the deep interest that was
on all sides felt on the first appearance of this favourite
son of Chatham. He made his mark at once. His
first speech was made a month after he had taken his
seat, on a motion of Edmund Burke for economical
reform, and it w^as a distinct success.^ No one was
more loud in its praise than Eox, destined to be
the rival of his life. One can well understand the
hearty and generous welcome which the great orator
¦ Stanhope's Life of Pitt, i. 45.
^ George Selwyn's estimate was not so high : ' To give him credit for
being very extraordinary upon what I heard yesterday would be absurd.
If the oration had been pronoimced equally by a young man whose name
was not of the same renown, aU which could have been said was that he
was a sensible and promising young man. There is no fairer way of
judging.' But Lord North declared it to be the best first speech he had
ever heard made by a young man (Hist. MSS. Com., ' Lord Carlisle,' xxv.).
Burke, too, was much impressed, and said : ' It is not a chip of the old
block : it is the old block itself.' Fox's tribute is well known. To one
who said, ' Pitt wiU be one of the first men in Parliament,' he at once
replied, ' He is so already.' B 2

36 PITT
of established fame would extend to the young man
who had just made his first speech. It is what one
would expect from the frank and genial nature of Fox,
particularly to the son of another of England's greatest
Parliamentary orators, and who had just shown himself
capable of making, at his first trial, an effective debating
speech. When Eockingham succeeded North, he offered Pitt
a dignified and highly paid office, which he proudly
refused, having determined not to take ' a subordinate
office.' Had he then accepted place he would have.
commenced official life as the coUeague of Fox, and this
junction might have had a great influence on the
political Ufe of the next eighteen or twenty years. If
these two great men — each a head and shoulders over
aU possible colleagues, putting Burke aside — had learned
to work together, and had been associates instead of
rivals and opponents, what changes would have been
shown in the debates on home and Irish and foreign
affairs ! Lord John EusseU was deeply impressed by
the separation of the two great men, and says : ' An
other evil consequence of the struggle of 1784 was that
it separated for life the two men who were most fitted
to guide the destinies of the country.' ^
When Eockingham died. Fox refused to serve under
Shelburne, the new Prime Minister. This refusal was
certainly as much based on personal as on public
grounds, but it led to momentous consequences to Fox
and Pitt. Shelburne at once applied to Pitt, who con
sented, then being only twenty-three, to accept the
' Life of C. J. Fox, ii. 248.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 37
office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, with practicaUy
the lead of the House of Commons ; while Fox went
into Opposition, where, with the exception of the short
and ignoble period of the coalition with North, and a few
months at the close of his career, he was to spend the
rest of his public Ufe. There is no doubt that each
knew and appreciated the other's great qualities. On
the one occasion that they had a private meeting to
discuss the continuation of the impeachment of Warren
Hastings, their interview was gracious and cordial, but
steadily through their lives they were resolute poUtical
antagonists. Pitt was not in the least unduly elated by the great
position thus so early acquired. His conduct during
the short Administration of Lord Shelburne was marked^
by abiUty, resource and dignity. His name, his youth,
his position, his future, commanded the attention and
sympathy of the nation.^ When the unworthj'- junction
of the forces of Fox and North ^ upset the Shelburne-
Ministry, Pitt went calmly into Opposition, having
declined the King's offer to make him Prime Minister.
He availed himself of being free from office to pay his
' ' Pitt has the m,onstra/ri digito whenever he appears abroad here
(Brighthelmstone), and, I believe, the real confidence of every man of
every description ' (Pulteney to the Duke of Eutland, August 1783. Eist.
MSS. Com,, ' Eutland Correspondence,' iii. 70).
' George Selwyn gives a minute description of his impressions of
Lord North : ' I see him in no light but of a Minister, and in that I see
him fuU of defects, and of aU men I ever sat dovra to dinner with the
most disagreeable. But he is so in part from a scholastic, puritanical
education, to which has been superadded the flattery of University par
sons, led captains, and Treasury dependants. Without this he would
have been a pleasant companion. He has parts, information, aaid a good
share of real wit, and is, I believe, not an Ul-tempered man by any
means ' (Hist. MSS. Com., ' Lord CarUsle's Papers,' xxvii.).

38 PITT
first and only visit to France, where he was treated with
great distinction. The Coalition Government could not
last, and it never commanded any confidence or respect.
It was not reputable for Fox to be sitting as a coUeague
of North, whom he had assailed in the most savage way
but a short time before, going even so far as to say that,
if he ever made terms with him, he would be himself
' the most infamous of mankind.' It has been well said
that Lord North readily forgave the uttering of these
invectives, but the public never forgave their being
retracted. When Fox's India Bill was defeated in the House
of Lords, mainly owing to the King's interference
through Lord Temple,^ George HI. — as Ministers, rely
ing upon their majority in the House of Commons, made
no sign of resignation — took the grave and serious re
sponsiblhty of himself dismissing the Government. He
insisted on getting prompt possession of the seals of
office, which were brought to him by the Under-Secre
taries, Nepean and Frazer. If the King had not found
a statesman wiUing to take their places, and with the
stuff in him to command success, he would have been
in the painful and awkward position of having again to
apply to the two Ministers he had treated so haughtily.
But such a statesman was forthcoming in Pitt.
^ Efforts were made to laugh down ^ the young and self-
' ' His Majesty aUows Earl Temple to say that whoever voted for the
India BiU was not only not his friend, but would be considered by him
as an enemy ; and if these words were not strong enough, Earl Temple
might use whatever words he deemed stronger and more to the purpose '
(Courts and Cabinets of George III. i. 288).
' Mrs. Crewe's description was contemptuous : ' It wiU be only a
mince-pie Administration 1 ' Pitt's first Ministry was composed as fol-

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 39
reliant Prime Minister who, in the winter of 1783,
boldly took office in face of a large majority of the
House of Commons, and who refused to dissolve until
he thought the occasion suitable, calmly biding his time,
watching the decreasing majorities against him on each
division, and noting that public opinion out of doors was
steadily coming to his side. His Ministry lasted for over
seventeen years, and when he formed it he was himself the
sole Cabinet Minister in the House of Commons to face
Fox and North, Burke and Sheridan, and the whole
power of the Opposition. Dundas was his most power
ful coUeague on the Treasury Bench, outside the Cabinet.
Lord Temple's resignation a few hours after he had ac
cepted office did Pitt no real harm. If he had continued
a Minister, his conduct in bringing about the crisis
would have been assailed, and it would have been hard
to defend it. The circumstances of his rapid retirement
are involved in some mystery, but they are not worth
inquiring into. He may have been too timid or too
grasping. This was a great and dramatic position in English
public life — this young Prime Minister of twenty-four,
with the great name, taking the reins of government with
perfect calmness and perfect self-reliance. The country
waited with sympathetic curiosity, with keen interest,
to see how Chatham's son would act, how he would bear
himself, how he would succeed. The nation soon
lows : Pitt, First Lord of Treasury and ChanceUor of the Exchequer ;
Lord Thurlow, Lord ChanceUor; Earl Gower, President of CouncU;
Duke of Rutland, Privy Seal ; Lord Carmarthen and Lord Sidney ;
Secretaries of State ; Duke of Eichmond, Master of the Horse (not in
Cabinet) ; Dundas and GrenviUe, Treasurer of the Navy and Paymaster.

40 PITT
reahsed that he was a man of commanding eloquence,
of boundless resource, of rare capacity, and that he
brought to the discharge of his vast responsibilities jus
tified self-reliance, infinite patience, unfaltering dignity.
He soon showed that he was a great House of
Commons man, a marvellous ParUamentary leader ;
always ready, always confident, ever clear and precise ;
a great debater as weU as a great orator, with an extra
ordinary gift of rapid and effective arrangement ^ of his
topics, and an unrivaUed power of sarcasm. His manner
was lofty and commanding, his diction elegant and
perfect, his elocution impressive, his voice distinct,
deep-toned and sonorous. He always profoundly im
pressed his audience. Opinions vary as to his style,
but all concur in the effect of his oratory.^ Windham
says he had a ' state paper style ' ; but this is reaUy a
tribute to the dignity and completeness of his speeches.
Brougham (no friendly critic) refers to the magical effect
he wrought, to his lucid arrangement, to the majesty of
his diction, to his unbending dignity of manner, and
says that he spokejnpre as a ruler oUhe . people than
1 ' It was Pitt's habit to form the plan of a speech in his mind whUe
the debate was going forward, and to distribute his comments on the
various statements and remarks of his opponents according to the arrange
ment which he had made ' (WUberforce's Private Papers, 1897). He had
an enormous memory and great self-reliance, which supported and
strengthened the habit.
^ Even his opponents admitted his powers, but sometimes in strange
language. Lord Derby said, ' D  the fellow ! He speaks so well, I
wish his throat was cut ! ' (Hist, MSS, Com., ' Eutland Correspondence,'
iii. 168). His action, however, was usuaUy vehement, sometimes ex
travagant, and seldom graceful. He rarely spoke fi:'om notes, and those
printed by Lord Stanhope only contain broad heads and divisions —
no epithets, epigrams, sentences, or perorations, no trace of verbal
preparation.

PITT'S EARLY LIFE 41
as an advocate or debatey.^ His gifts were not confined
to his speech. Canning says, ' He had qualities rare in
their separate excellence, wonderful intheir combination.'
The purity and elevation of his sentiments, the fineness
of his motives, his ireedom fronT'aSalr' and ""Elfish
objetTtST-gjr impressed the nation ; and when, shortly
afCSfnis accession to power'; he" utterly put away the
idea of making himself independent by taking the
appointment of Clerk of the Pells, worth 3,000Z. a year,
and used it for a laudable pubUc purpose, he at once
commanded the respect of the nation, and retained it all
through his Ufe.
Truly might Gibbon say, 'A youth of five-and-
twenty, who raises himself to the government of an
'empire by the force of genius and the reputation of
virtue, is a circumstance unparalleled in history, and,
in a general view, not less glorious to the country than
to himself.' One of the greatest of our Uving states
men,-^ impressed by his career, has expressed the judg
ment that 'Pitt is by far the noblest figure in our
poUtical history.'
At the general election which was held in March
1784 Pitt had a large majority in the new Parliament,
and was himself returned for Cambridge University, and
retained the seat for life.
Thus, supported by a great popular vote, with a
large majority in the House of Lords, and aided by the
strong support of the King (ready to do anything to
keep out Fox), Pitt applied himself to the great task of
governing the Empire.
^ The Duke of ArgyU at Glasgow, January 15, 1895;

42 PITT

CHAPTEE n
THE DUKE OF EUTLAND
AbUity and education — Froude's estimate — His beautiful Duchess —
Applies to Shelburne to influence Orde to become Chief Secretary —
Orde — Shelburne — His nicknames — Condition of Ireland at Pitt's
accession, poUtical and Parliamentary — Commercial restraints — -Pitt's
summary — ^WooUen trade — Its destruction — Hely-Hutchinson's 'Com
mercial Restraints of Ireland' — Caused emigration of Ulster Pro
testants — Linen manufacture — Embargoes — Irish ParUament feeble —
Petition for Union in 1703 — Efforts to relieve trade — ^Literature
asserted rights — Molyneux — Swift — Demand for Free Trade — Con
cessions — Constitutional danger — Constitution of 1782 imperfect —
General condition of Ireland — Population — Hedge schools — Eflfect of
penal laws — Peasantry of Ulster — Of other provinces — Mrs. OUphant
on effect of residence in Ireland — Duke of Eutland's Journal — ' Ireland
Sixty Years Ago ' — Tarring and feathering — Police^ — ^Three classes of
gentry — Life at Shane's Castle — DueUing — Abduction — Lord Clomnel's
Diary — Drinking habits — Secret societies — Tithes — John FitzGibbon
and John Beresford — ' Beresford Correspondence ' — Improvement of
DubUn — Eutland mastered position^ — -His letter to Pitt — Joumey
between London and Dublin — Loyal to Orde — Eutland's love of art
— Sir Joshua Eeynolds — Eutland's wine and cook — Thought highly of
by his contemporaries.
Chaeles, fourth Duke of Eutland, who was selected by
Pitt to be Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,^ was a man of
ample ability, weU educated, and a lover of art, en-
' The expenses of the Viceroyalty then, as now, were very great.
Earl Temple, writing to the Duke of Eutland, January 11, 1784, says :
' In answer to your enquiries relating to the oflice, on a rough estimate
my estabUshment would have required at least 15,0002. per annum, added
to the present salary of 20,0002. I think you must calculate upon spend
ing that sum from your private incoms. The sum of 3,0002. is always
given for equipage money, and you will find your flrst expenses exceed
that sum ' (Hist. MSS. Com., ' Eutland Correspondence,' iii. 73).

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 43
dowed with keen powers of observation and con
siderable resolution. Froude, speaking of him, says
that ' He died too soon to display qualities in a larger
sphere which might have given him a place in the
history of the Empire.' He lived, however, long enough
to show that he enjoyed Pitt's confidence and friend
ship, and that he could, notwithstanding a great love
for social pleasure, well acquit himself of the duties of
an arduous position. He was well aided by his gifted
Duchess, a daughter of the Duke of Beaufort, a lady of
rare beauty, who gave much grace to his Court. She
survived him for over forty years.
Pitt was about twenty-four when he became Prime
Minister, and the Viceroy was still under thirty, and it
is interesting to note the dignified, mature, and states-
manUke style of the correspondence between two such
young men, filling two such great offices.
The Dute at first, and for a short time, held the
dignified office of Lord Privy Seal, but he deemed
it right to accept the arduous office of Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland at the instance of Pitt.
He at once applied himself to find a suitable Chief
Secretary, and requested^ Lord Shelburne to use his
influence with Orde to prevail on him to accept the
office, saying that it was " an object of the last import
ance to the country in the present crisis that a person
of his character and ability should be employed in that
situation.' Orde was an able and experienced public servant,
being both Secretary of the Treasury and a member of
1 Bolton MSS.

44 PITT
the English House of Commons, and it was natural that
the Duke should desire the assistance of his official
training and knowledge of affairs.
Orde accepted, and worked with the Viceroy most
harmoniously and ably until the death of the Duke.
The Duke of Eutland must have been very intimate
with Lord Shelburne to make an apphcation to him
in the first bitterness of his disappointment at not being
asked to join, or even consulted as to, the new
Government. Shelburne was one of the ablest men of his day,
who had held great office, been Prime Minister with
Pitt as ChanceUor of the Exchequer, before the Coali
tion Ministry was formed; and now George DI., passing
him by, had entrusted the task of forming a Government
to Pitt, who left him severely alone, ^ whilst giving
Cabinet office to men far inferior to'lhim in ability.
This appears the more extraordinary because, when
Shelburne was defeated by the startling junction of
North and Fox, he had advised the King to send for
Pitt, who now does not appear even to have consulted
him. There may be some as yet unknown explanation
of the position, but Lord Eosebery ascribes the apparent
neglect of Shelburne to ' the most inveterate distrust '
then associated with his name. His nicknames, 'Jesuit'
and ' Malagrida,' certainly do not suggest that he would
be a cordial and reliable coUeague.
A man just left out of a Government is hardly the
one to seek assistance from in completing its formation.
The Duke of Eutland must not only have been on most
' Life of Lord Shelburne, by Lord E. Fitzmaurice, iii.

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND -45
friendly terms with him, but also must have known that
he was influential with Orde. At aU events, Shelburne
would appear to have complied with the request ; and
Orde was always regarded as a persona grata with
Shelburne. Pitt consulted him as to whether the title
of marquis would be acceptable to his old chief.
Whenever Orde visited Bath he generaUy also went to
Bowood, and he was the medium of kind and friendly
messages between its lord and the Viceroy.
It is most essential, in order to understand Pitt's
position and difficulties, to thoroughly realise the poli
tical, commercial and social condition of Ireland at the
time of his accession to office. There was in Ireland a
Parliament newly constituted, proud of the possession of
independent powers, with many sincere and genuine
patriots and many sincere and genuine pensioners,
and many who were ready to pass from one class
to the other as their interests dictated. A shackled
and fettered Parliament, subordinate to the EngUsh
Parliament, had been tried. An independent Parlia
ment — ^Protestant, loyal, composed mainly of the landed
and aristocratic classes — was now to be tested, and to
afford proof how far it could work not only for the
good of Ireland, but in harmony with the general
requirements of Great Britain and the Empire.
The commercial position of Ireland at Pitt's acces
sion was interesting and novel.
Its restraints had been removed, the 'Free Trade'
so long demanded had been conceded, and new Parlia
mentary powers had just been granted. But all had
taken place very rapidly, and much remained to be

46 PITT
done in order to give an impetus to the backward
trade, to stir the languid commerce of the country, and
also to define and secure the imperial relations between
the two countries.
The commercial restraints of the previous eighty
years ^ must be reaUsed in order to foUow the spirit
in which the past action of Great Britain was regarded,
and the suspicions and jealousies which its memory
had left behind.
Until 1663 the commerce and manufactures of
Ireland were practicaUy on the same footing and treated
as favourably and protected as weU as those of England.
In that year, for the first time, a distinction was made
and the uniformity of treatment ceased — and that, as
Lord North said in 1779, ' not directly, but by a side
wind and by deductive interpretation.'
The first Navigation Act of 1660 placed England
and Ireland on a clear equality; but this Act was
amended in 1663 by another English Act, and Ireland
• Pitt, in his speech on the Commercial Resolutions on February 22,
1785, thus summarised the record : ' Prom the Eevolution to a period
within the memory of every man who heard him— indeed, untU these
very few years — the system had been that of debalrring Ireland fi:om the
employment and use of her own resources ; to make the kingdom com
pletely subservient to the interests and opulence of this country, without
suffering her to share in the bounties of Nature, in the industry of her
citizens, or making them contribute to the general interests and protection
of the Empire. This system of cruel and abominable restraint had, how
ever, been exploded. It was at once harsh and unjust, and it was as
impoUtic as it was oppressive, and it promoted not the real prosperity
and strength of the Empire. That which had been the system counter
acted the kindness of Providence and impeded the industry and enterprise
of man. Ireland was put under such restraint that she was shut out
fi:om every species of commerce. She was restrained firom sending the
produce of her own soil to foreign markets, and aU correspondence with
the colonies of Britain was prohibited to her' {Pitt's Speeches, By
Hathaway. London, 1806).

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 47
was then quietly omitted, thereby altering the commer
cial status of Ireland. All exports from Ireland to the
Colonies, except victuals, servants, horses and salt, were
prohibited ; and the importation of Irish cattle into
England was forbidden. Subsequent legislation some
times rendered more stringent and sometimes relaxed
this grave interference with the export of cattle. Irish
shipping naturally suffered vastly from this restriction
of such a large branch of trade, and much distress was
felt, and would have been felt to a greater extent but
for the resolute and vigorous exertions of the Duke of
Ormonde, who was a patriotic Irishman, and who was
then, fortunately. Viceroy, and on the best terms with
Charles II.
The cattle trade being thus almost destroyed, the
people turned themselves very largely to increase their
flocks of sheep, and thus make additions to their stock
of wool. The wooUen trade of Ireland dated back to early
times, and was flourishing and progressive. The addi
tions to the supply of wool were an advantage to the
trade and found a ready market. The wooUen manu
facture became the greatest trade of Ireland. There
does not appear, however, to have been any particular
increase of the business in the reign of WiUiam HI.,
but, nevertheless, it then excited specially apprehension
and jealousy in England, although no effort was made
to prejudice, much less to destroy it, until the year
1697. In that year a Bill was brought into and passed the
English House of Commons to prevent the exportation

48 PITT
from Ireland of wooUen manufactures, but after some
consideration was not passed by the House of Lords.
The matter, however, was not aUowed to drop, and in
the year 1698 both the Houses of Parliament at West
minster addressed William HI. to use his influence to
check the growth and increase of the woollen manu
facture in Ireland. The King accordingly wrote to Lord
Galway, then one of the Lords Justices, to urge the
matter on the Irish Parhament. The celebrated John
Hely-Hutchinson, Provost, Secretary of State and M.P.,
in a remarkable series of letters (not avowed, but known
to be his) written in August and September 1779 — 'The
Commercial Eestraints of Ireland Considered,' ^ says : 'It
would be unjust to infer from any of these proceedings
that this great Prince wanted affection for this country.
They were times of party. He was often under the
necessity of complying against his own opinion and
wishes, and about this time was obliged to send away
his favourite guards in compUance with the desire of
the Commons.' It is not a very attractive defence, but
possibly it is as good as can be made.
The Lords Justices secured the passing, but not with
out opposition, of a BiU for laying an additional duty
upon wooUen manufactures exported out of Ireland.
By this suicidal Irish Act (10 WiU. IH. c. 5) heavy
prohibitive duties were laid on woollen goods, friezes
only excepted, exported out of Ireland.
The measure struck a terrible blow at this great
• CarroU's edition, Dublin. Grattan said of Hely-Hutchinson : ' He
was the servant of many Governments, but he was an Irishman not
withstanding.'

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 49
branch of Irish trade ; however, it was, at all events,
only passed for three years. But the English ParUa
ment in 1699 passed a perpetual law prohibiting the
exportation from Ireland of all goods made up or mixed
with wool, except to England and Wales, and with the
licence of the Commissioners of the Eevenue. Duties
had before been laid on the importation into England
equal to a prohibition, therefore this Act operated as a.
total prohibition of the exportation.
This destruction of the wooUen trade caused great
distress in Ireland. The paralysis of one of its greatest
industries naturaUy led to suffering and poverty, and
deprived thousands of employment. It was computed
that the business at the time of its suppression employed
12,000 famiUes in Dublin and 30,000 in the rest of the
kingdom. Its ruin caused a vast emigration, mostly of
Protestants, of whom 20,000 left Ulster alone.^ The
revocation of the Edict of Nantes drove thousands of
French Protestants out of France about the same time
that the intolerance that kiUed the wooUen trade drove
thousands of Irish Protestants out of Ireland. It was
a strange result, to see French Huguenots welcomed in
Ireland, and Irish Protestants in France, assisting the
commerce of their new countries against their old.
The linen manufacture was not equal to the wooUen
in either its extent or the amount of employment it
gave, but it was considerable, and had shown always
those elements of success which have now made Irish
linen probably the best in the world.^
' Froude, English im Ireland, pp. 435-36.
" Even in 1787 the Irish Unen was celebrated.. ' I know it to be the
case that the French admire beyond aU things the fineness of the Irish
E

60 PITT
When the Irish wooUen trade was outlawed it was,
however, promised that England would in every way
develop, foster, and protect the Irish linen trade.
Ireland is not a manufacturing country. It was a
grave thing to take away its most flourishing business,
and leave it so largely dependent on the one trade of
linen. That manufacture is liable, like all others, to
vicissitudes, and in 1771-2-3 the Irish linen trade had
bad times ; profits shrank, employment diminished, and
there was great consequent distress. What a mitiga
tion there would have been if the wooUen business had
then been thriving, earning, and employing !
The slowly growing glass trade of Ireland was also
discouraged in the reign of George IL. ; and Hely-
Hutchinson ^ points out other interferences with Irish
trade. In addition to these restraints of trade, it must also
be borne in mind that between 1740 and 1779 there
were twenty-four embargoes in Ireland, one of which
lasted three years, and that these ' occasional ' interfer
ences were often ruinous.
The unfortunate condition of Ireland obtained but
little aUeviation from the Irish Parliament,^ which was
Unen, which I dare say wiU have an immediate sale there. They are so
nice in this article that a bla/nohisseuse of credit wiU not send home an
EngUshman's linen under a fortnight or three weeks' whitening ; and on
my complaining of it to a Norman servant, he said he beUeved she made
a show of it' (Pulteney to the Duke of Butland. Hist, MSS. Com.,
'Eutland,' iu. 866).
' Commercial Bestradnts, p. 156.
' See Irish Pa/rUa/menta/ry Systems, by the Eight Hon. J. T. BaU,
for a fuU history of the Irish ParUament, showing its varying conditions,
and also the different areas from which its members from time to time

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 51
feeble and powerless. The Parliament in 1703, despair
ing, probably, of its own utility, as weU as thinking that
it would be best for the interests of Ireland to follow
the recent example of Scotland, petitioned for a union.
It was too soon. Opinion had not then developed suffi
ciently, and the English Government did not entertain
the idea.
One of the very few measures to remedy commer
cial depression that the Irish Parliament succeeded in
getting assent to was, in 1729, 'an Act to encourage
the home consumption of wool by burying in wool
only,' which had the curious and novel provision that
no one should ' be buried in any stuff than what is
made of sheep's or lamb's wool only,' a provision easily
evaded, and not likely to be complied with unless sup
ported by fashion or popularity. The Act of 1761
directing the inland carriage of corn was weU meant
and popular, but costly and indefensible.^
But literature asserted itself when Parliament was
silent or incapable. The genius of great Irishmen, free
outside the waUs of Parliament, made and roused a
pubUc opinion, which each year made itself more felt,
and later on encouraged generous minds in England as
well as in Ireland, at Westminster as well as in Dublin.
Molyneux, member for Dublin University, a man
much respected, and of great eminence, in his well-
known book, ' The Case of Ireland's being bound by
Acts of ParUament in England stated,' published in
1698, insisted that the Irish Parliament was indepen-
' Duke of ArgyU on Irish NatAonaUsm, E 2

62 PITT
dent of that of England, and denounced in vigorous
language the commercial injustice done to Ireland.
The work was widely read, and had a substantial
effect on pubhc opinion; but the authorities looked
upon it as ' dangerous,' and it had the distinction of
being ordered to be burned by the common hangman,
which did not injure its popularity or circulation.
Swift's celebrated ' Drapier's Letters ' ^ raised the
nation to a fury of patriotic excitement, and the great
Dean of St. Patrick's is regarded by many as the real
founder of any pubhc opinion in Ireland.^
Hely-Hutchinson, in the letters already referred to,
with much wealth of language and with powerful itera
tion, traversed the whole field of Ireland's commercial
restrictions, and his indictment loses none of its power
from its occasional courtier-Uke tones. It is said ^ that
his work enjoyed the same fate as that of Molyneux,
and was ordered to be burnt by the common hangman.
Notwithstanding, the writers made their mark, and
kept alive a spirit which each day more resolutely
' Swift's position in Irish pubUc Ufe is founded on these letters, and
this would appear to have been his own view, for years after — in 1735 —
in his portrait by Bindon, painted for the Lord Howth of the day, and
now in the haU at Howth Castle, he is represented as holding in his
hand ' the Drapier's fourth letter to the whole people of Ireland,' with
the figure of Hibernia about to place a wreath upon his head, and
trampling upon the prostrate flgure of Wood, clinging to his patent, from
which his coins are roUing. On July 6, 1735, Lord Howth, in a letter to
Swift, writes : ' I am verymuch obUged to my good Dean of St. Patrick's
for the honour he did me in sitting for his picture, and have wrote to
Dr. Grattan to give Mr. Bindon strict charge in the finishing of it, and
when that is done to bring it to his house, for fear I should get a copy
instead of the original. My wife and aU here join in their kiud service
to the Drapier. — I am, good Mr. Dean, your most assured and affectionate,
humble servant, Howth.'
' Lecky's Leaders of PubUc Opinion im Ireland,
' MacNeUl's Commercial Bestradnts.

THE DUKE OF EUTLAND 53
demanded 'Free Trade.' Then came the time of the
Volunteers, and their motto, ' Free Trade or  ,' and
the pressure of the Irish House of Commons and the
speech of Hussey Burgh : ' The English have sown
their laws with serpents' teeth, they have sprung up
armed men.'
The Ministers determined to assent to what Lord
Shelburne ^ diplomaticaUy described, on December 1,
1779, as the ' united voice of the country, conveyed
through its proper constitutional channels, both Houses
of ParUament.' History, however, adds other reasons for the action
of Lord North and his coUeagues : the aspect of the
Volunteers, the insistence of the Irish Parliament, the
dread of bankruptcy in Ireland, the tremendous war
then straining the resources of England ; and measures
were rapidly passed far exceeding what the most san
guine hopes of Ireland ventured to put forward but a
short time before.
The appearance of this change being obtained by
force was unfortunate, and fuU of Constitutional danger.
This view of the case found expression in the poetry of
Ireland, and its voice is heard in the well known lines
of Thomas Davis : ^
And bless the men of patriot pen — ¦
Swift, Molyneux, and Lucas !
Bless sword and gun, which Free Trade won,
Bless God ! that ne'er forsook us !
And long may last the friendship fast
Whieh binds us all together :
WhUe we agree, our foes shaU flee
Like clouds in stormy weather !
' Parliamentary Debates, xiv. 85.
- See his Song of the Volunteers of 1782.

64 PITT
Ireland, after the commercial concessions, was also
given in 1782 an independent Parliament, whose mem
bers knew the sad history of the restrictions just shaken
off, and who, elated by a success for which they felt
but Uttle gratitude, looked forward to a future in which
they might complete the work of the development of
the trade and resources of the country.
But many difficulties stiU lay in the way, and re
quired thought, consideration, and mutual concession ;
for, as Froude ^ points out : ' The Constitution of 1782
had been so hurried, it had left many things untouched.
Ireland had free trade ; but who was to protect her
trade, who was to represent her merchants abroad,
under what system of duties were her exchanges with
foreign countries to be regulated and her manufactures
or raw products aUowed privileges in the markets and
passage through the Ports of England ? '
The general condition of Ireland was so entirely
different at the time of Pitt's accession to power from
that which it is at present that it is difficult for us to
realise what it was.
The population was in 1775 about two miUions and
a half.^ The persons who resided in houses of one
hearth were computed to be 1,877,220. ' These find it
very difficult to pay hearth money, and are thought to
be unable to pay any other taxes.' The general con
dition of the mass of the people must have been very
poor ; they were wretchedly housed and miserably fed.^
^ English in, Ireland, ii. 421.
' Note to Carroll's edition of Hely-Hutchinson's Commercial Be
stradnts, ' Arthur Young's Totj/r,

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 55
Their standard of comfort and living must have been
very low. They had no Eoyal Irish Constabulary to
keep the peace ; no poor-law system to rely upon in
sickness and in want ; a system of national education
was not then thought of. The Irish have always re
spected letters and yearned for education, but they
could only rely upon their ' hedge ' ^ schools, and casual
and intermittent instruction given, it might be, by poor,
untrained, and wretchedly paid teachers. The mass of
the Irish people had then so few advantages, so little to
encourage them to better things, that it is a wonder,
not that they had vices, but that they had so few. The
bulk of the people were not trusted with the franchise,
they had no feeling of pubUc duty or responsibility.
They had seen their religion for years subjected to
harsh and unjust laws. This made them cling to
it with all the more devotion. Eeligious differences
played their sad part, there was much bitterness
on both sides, and, unfortunately, a great feeling of
estrangement, too often of antagonism, between the
two religions.
The Protestant peasantry of great parts of Ulster
showed the qualities and the virtues which might be
expected from their EngUsh and Scottish descent —
energy, industry, perseverance and courage. Those
of the other Provinces — the vast majority Eoman
' ' Up to 1832 the chUdren were taught in "hedge" schools, held in
the open air, for want of the shelter of a roof. The teaching was probably
rude and chaotic, but it used to be beUeved that the hedge schoolmasters
were strong in classics, and it is certain that they sometimes sowed seed
which, under the care of Irish Colleges in France, Spain, and Belgium,
ripened into famous scholarship and eminent achievements ' (Sir C. G.
Duffy's Bird's-eye View of Irish History),

56 PITT
Catholic — were also largely descended from Enghsh
settlers, with some Celtic intermixture ; while, indeed,
parts of Ulster, Connaught and Munster were mainly of
Celtic descent. The speaking of Irish cannot be taken
as a certain test of descent, as the early settlers rapidly
adopted the speech and garb and habits of the Irish.
Thus, in parts of Meath, one of the counties of the
Pale, Irish was very commonly spoken at the end of
the last century. Nor can religion, or habits, or
fluency, or characteristics, be rehed on as any certain
tests of race. The Tipperary peasants are largely
descended from CromweU's troopers, many of whom
married and settled there, and in no part of Ireland
are what are regarded as Irish characteristics more
marked. Mrs. Oliphant ^ has referred to the strange
and mysterious effect of residence for a few generations
in the Irish climate, and to the ' sunshine which some
times gets into Enghsh blood on the other side of the
narrow seas ' : ' The race of brilliant, witty, imprudent
and reckless Irishmen, whom we have aU been taught
to admire, excuse, love and condemn — the Goldsmiths,
the Sheridans, and many more that wiU occur to the
reader — aU belong to this mingled Anglo-Irish blood.
They are more Irish, according to our present under
standing of the word, than their compatriots of a purer
race. How it is that the bog, and the mountain, the
softer climate, the salt breath of the Atlantic, should
have wrought this change is a mystery of ethnology
which we are quite incompetent to solve ; or whether
it is mere external contact with an influence which the
• Sheridan (' EngUsh Men of Letters ' series).

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 57
native gives forth, without himself being strongly
affected by it, we cannot tell.'
The peasantry of the three southern provinces were
and are taken as the type of the class in England.
They were bright, quick and intelligent, genial, tactful
and kindly, impulsive and sensitive, very shrewd, very
courteous and plausible, with much ' blarney ' and
great powers of expression ; always anxious to approve
and to agree with visitors ; fond of music, sport,
dancing and fighting. Their faults were largely the
product of their history, their virtues were their own.
Their melodies reflected the strange mixture of tem
perament, grave and bright, tender and melancholy.
Always quick and emotional, their moods rapidly
changed ; pathos and humour strangely mingled in
their nature. In addition to their respect for religion,
they maintained a high standard of domestic purity.
The Irish peasantry have suffered from the concep
tion of them shown on the stage and in caricature,
with large and hideous mouths, battered hats, and
faces marking either viUainy or imbecility. They were
commonly taken to be idle, improvident, devU-may-
care and reckless. But they were reaUy like the
French peasantry — often industrious and penurious,
generally pleasant and light-hearted, and when they
went to fair or wake they displayed qualities of their
own by which they have been almost exclusively
judged.^ ^ The novels of Carleton, Miss Edgeworth, Lady Morgan, Banim,
Lever, Griffin, and Lover are most interesting from their accounts and
stories of the Irish peasantry.

58 PITT
The Government of that day took but Uttle note of
these southern peasants. Their attention was directed
exclusively to ParUament and its members, to Govern
ment and its difficulties.
Little glimpses of parts of the north and west of
Ireland can be obtained from the short journal of
the Duke of Eutland.^ It begins : ' July 3, 1787 — I
quitted Dublin in order to proceed on a tour round the
whole kingdom of Ireland, which I had a long time
meditated,' and closes abruptly as foUows : ' Sep
tember 29, 1787 — Proceeded for DubUn, the prospect
of a war with France in consequence of her interference
with the affairs of HoUand rendering my presence in
DubUn absolutely necessary.' The foUowing passages
are interesting : ' We passed through a viUage (in
Meath) in which there was a pattern, though it was
Sunday, which answers to a wake in England. There
we saw men, women, and even girls intoxicated by that
pernicious Uquor whisky, which influences the brain to
madness, and at the same time leaves a perfect posses
sion of the limbs to commit outrage with. It is to be
hoped that this abominable poison wiU in time be dis
used. They speak but little English in this part, though
so near the metropolis. . . . Newry is a town of great
consequence. It has, however, been dechning for six or
seven years, as a good deal of smuggling has been
introduced into the place. It seems admirably calcu
lated for that purpose. . . . Lisburn is a seat of discon-

' The present Duke of Eutland, who repubUshed his grandfather's
correspondence with Pitt, was kind enough to lend me the MS. of this
journal.

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 59
tent and faction. A seditious society was here first
formed to overset every establishment, caUing them
selves by a prostitution of the name " the Constitutional
Society." . . . Belfast is a great town, flourishing in
everything : 500 houses have been built within a very
short space of time — I think within a year. Their trade
is immense. They go to the West Indies and to almost
every quarter of the globe. A single ship paid this
year 10,000/. King's duties. The revenue collected
from this port amounts annually to 120,000/. It holds
about 16,000 inhabitants. It is full of Presbyterians,
and was much connected with the Americans during
the calamitous contest. It has always been very
factious, but I was received with much kindness, and
they gave me my freedom. This is the town where
Volunteering has fixed its throne. . . . The situation of
Derry is very striking. It is a town of great trade and
superior smuggling. . . . We visited the wretched
episcopal town of KiUala, supported entirely by fishing,
and in truth we can make no other remark but that the
hospitality of the gentlemen at whose houses we visited
made the most inhospitable looking country in the
globe comfortable and pleasant.'
The Government dread of smuggling and the
personal horror of whisky are very apparent.
The state of violence, riot and disorder in towns
amongst all classes can hardly be imagined. The
following, taken from ' Ireland Sixty Years Ago,' ^ gives
' Published anonymously in 1847 by John Edward Walsh, afterwards
P.C. and M.P. for Dublin University, Attorney-General and Master of
the EoUs in Ireland.

60 PITT
some idea of the state of Dublin between 1780 and 1790 :
' Among the lower orders a feud and deadly hostihty
had grown up between the Liberty boys, or tailors and
weavers of the Coombe, and the Ormond boys, which
caused frequent conflicts ; and it is in the memory of
many now living that the streets, and particularly the
quays and bridges, were impassable in consequence of
the battles of these parties. The weavers descending
from the upper regions beyond Thomas Street down on
their opponents below, they were opposed by the
butchers, and a contest commenced on the quays which
extended from Essex to Island Bridge. The shops were
closed, aU business suspended, the sober and peaceable
compeUed to keep their houses, while the war of stones
and other missiles was carried on across the river, and
the bridges were taken and retaken by the hostUe
parties. It wiU hardly be believed that for whole days
the intercourse of the city was interrupted by these
feuds. The few miserable watchmen, inefficient for any
purpose of protection, looked on in terror, and thought
themselves well acquitted of their duty if they escaped
from stick and stone. A friend of ours has told us that
he has gone down to Essex Bridge, when he has been
informed that one of these battles was raging, and stood
quietly on the battlements for a whole day, looking at
the combat, in which above a thousand men were
engaged. . . . The spirit of the times led men of the
highest grade and respectabUity to join with the dregs
of the market in these outrages, and the young aristo
crat, who would have felt it a great degradation to

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 61
associate or even be seen with an honest merchant,
however respectable, with a singular inconsistency made
a boast of his intimate acquaintance with the lawless
excesses of butchers and coal-porters. The students of
Trinity CoUege were particularly prone to join in these
affrays, and generally united their forces to those of the
Liberty boys. . . . The gownsmen were then a formid
able body, and from a strong esprit de corps were ready
to issue forth to avenge any insult offered to any of
their party. Even the Fellows participated in this
esprit de corps, . . . One of them, Dr. Wilder, was a
man of very eccentric habits, and possessed little of that
gravity and decorum that distinguish the present
exemplary Fellows. He once met a young lady in one
of the crossings where she could not pass him without
walking in the mud. He stopped opposite her, and,
gazing for a moment in her face, he laid his hands on
each side and kissed her. He then nodded familiarly
at the astonished and offended girl, and saying, " Take
that, miss, for being so handsome," stepped out of the
way and let her pass. He was going through the
College courts one day when a bailiff was under dis
cipline : he pretended to interfere for the man, and
called out : " Gentlemen, for the love of God, don't be
so cruel as to nail his ears to the pump ! ' This hint
was immediately taken, and a hammer and nails were
sent for and an ear was fastened with a tenpenny nail,
and the wretched man remained for a considerable
time, bleeding and shrieking with pain, before he was
released.'

62 PITT
A tarring and feathering committee was actuaUy
established in Dublin, and unpopular citizens were
often dragged from their beds, stripped naked, covered
with pitch, roUed in feathers, and in that horrible con
dition turned into the streets. The Duke of Eutland,
in one of his early letters to Pitt, says : ' Persons are
daily marked out for the operation of tarring and
feathering.' There was then no police. In the day time the
streets of Dublin were practically unprotected. The
first appointment of a permanent night watch was in
1723, when parishes were directed to appoint ' honest
men and good Protestants ' to be night watchers. The
insecurity of this Dogberry system must have been
keenly felt, and from time to time improvements were
attempted, but with little success. The searches and
arrests made in 1798 and 1803 were by soldiers in
coloured clothes, under the directions of Majors Sirr
and Swan, and not by poUce,^ there being none suitable
or available. According to Sir Jonah Barrington, the common
people of that time divided the gentry into three classes —
half-mounted gentlemen, gentlemen every inch, and
gentlemen to the backbone. The class caUed ' Bucks '
among the gentry of the period spent their Uves in
violence and eccentricity.
Some ofthe 'Bucks' constituted the ' HeU Fire Club,'
and it is reported that they set fire to the room where
they sat, and endured the flames with obstinacy till
' Fitzpatrick's Ireland hefore the Union.

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 63
forced out of the house, and in derision, they boasted
of a future state. Others met under the names of
' Mohawk,' ' Hawkabite,' and ' Cherokee,' and other
tribes noted for ferocity.
The social Ufe in great country houses must have
been a little curious. Lord Mountjoy, when staying at
Shane's Castle (Lord O'Neill's) in 1785, drew up the
following resolutions : ^ 'To promote regularity at
Shane's Castle at the meeting for the representa
tion of " Cymbeline." ' They were drawn up in a
joke, but they give a glimpse of the habits of the
time :
' (1.) That no noise be made during the forenoon, for
fear of wakening the company.
' (2.) That there shall be no breakfast made after
four o'clock in the afternoon, nor tea after one in the
morning. '(3.) To inform any stranger who may come in to
breakfast that we are not at dinner.
' (4.) That no person be permitted to go out airing
after breakfast tiU the moon gets up, for fear of being
overturned in the dark.
' (5.) That the respective grooms may put up their
horses after four hours' parading before the Hall door
of the Castle.
' (6.) That there shaU be one complete hour between
each meal.
1 ComwalUs Correspondence, ii. 347. One gets a curious gUmpse of
the habits and ways of the time from the fact mentioned in the Irish
Qua/rterly Beview, iv. 822 : ' The Duke of Eutland knighted Sir E.
Maguire, a Trinity CoUege student, for taking the place of an aeronaut
whose weight prevented a baUoon from rising.'

64 PITT
' (7.) That all the company must assemble at dinner
before the cloth is removed.
'(8.) That supper may not be caUed for tiU five
minutes after the last glass of claret.
' (9.) That no gentleman be permitted to drink more
than three bottles of Hock at or after supper.
'(10.) That all M.P.'s shall assemble on post days in
the coffee room at four o'clock to frank letters.'
DueUing was a very prevalent practice in Ireland
from the Battle of the Boyne until the Union. It was
much the fashion at and previous to Pitt's accession to
power, and the holders of the highest offices were
prominent offenders. It was thought part of a poUte
education to have * smelt powder.' Senators, judges,
barristers, doctors, aU fought their duels. It is told^
that a young man going to the bar consulted the Vice-
Provost of Trinity College as to his best course of study
— whether he should begin with Fearne or Chitty. The
advice he received was : ' My young friend, practise
four hours a day at Eigby's [then, and until quite
recently, a celebrated gunmaker in DubUn] pistol gal
lery, and it wiU advance you to the Woolsack faster
than all the Fearnes and Chittys in the library.'
So strong had the habit grown, that dueUing clubs
were established in many places. Counties became
distinguished for particular weapons. Tipperary, SUgo,
and Eoscommon for the pistol — ' the leaden branch of
the pastime ' — Galway for the sword. Mayo for both.
Nearly aU the great public men at that time had fought,
many of them several duels. Lord Clare, the Chan-
' Ireland Sixty Years Ago, p. 17.

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 65
ceUor, Lord Clonmel, the Chief Justice, Curran, the
Master of the EoUs, Lord Norbury, Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas, Baron Metge, Corry, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Grattan, Hely-Hutchinson, Secretary of
State and Provost of Trinity CoUege, Sir Hardinge
Giffard, Chief Justice of Ceylon, and numerous other
prominent men, all fought duels. Indeed, Toler, Lord
Norbury, fought so many that it was said he shot up
into preferment.^ These bad habits cannot be depre
cated as mere Irish outbursts of indiscretion. It must
not be forgotten that Pitt himself fought a duel with
Tierney and Fox with Adam. Abduction ^ of heiresses
was then a frequent practice. These offences were
deUberately planned and carried out, and although
forcible abduction was made a capital offence in the
reign of Queen Anne, it continued for many years after.
The girl was always placed before the man on the
horse — used on these occasions — as it was the common
beUef that the man could not then be punished, the
woman having abducted him ! An abduction club was
actually formed in the south of Ireland, the members
of which were bound to assist each other in carrying
off heiresses. No class was exempt from the operations
of this band, and the daughters of rich farmers as well
as of the gentry were subject to their enterprise. Some-
' ' Two himdred and twenty-seven memorable and official duels have
actuaUy been fought during my time ' (Sir Jonah Barrington, Sketches of
His Own Time, ii. 5).
^ Froude appears to put forward the strange theory that abductions
were an organised form of gueriUa warfare carried on by CathoUcs against
Protestants, with the sanction of the Church, for the purpose of avenging
confiscations and getting converts. Mr. Lecky has entirely refuted the-
idea, which has no foundation.

66 PITT
times abduction was a method of courtship, and some
times it was resorted to with the assent of the young
lady — to overcome parents' objections. Some stern and
necessary prosecutions^ checked, and ultimately put
down, this practice of criminal and forcible abductions,
which was a strange sign of the lawlessness of those
times. Drinking habits were unfortunately then terribly
prevalent. SirW. Petty,^ writing in 1682, when DubUn
contained only 6,025 houses, states that 1,200 were
public-houses. In 1798 every third house in Thomas
Street was a public-house. Claret was then amongst
^ Scott, the Attorney-General (afterwards Lord Clomnel) deserves the
principal credit for this. See Ireland Sixty "Sears Ago and Fitzpatrick's
Irelamd before the Union. Mr. Fitzpatrick devotes much of this book to
Lord Clonmel, and publishes many interesting extracts and maxims from
his private Diary, e.g, : ' Answer aU unpleasant questions by asking
another question, and never before you can begin with a smUe. Make
yourself pleasing by flattering aU. Make every man your dupe by
flattery. Avoid intimacies. Suffer no man to come so near you that
you cannot caU him " Mr." with propriety. Satan had found no footing
in Paradise if he had not gained over Eve to his party ; for ever secure
some she-thing to your interest, young or old, high or low, mistress or
maid. A man who would establish a great character with the world
must be a constant actor. Lord Chatham, CromweU, and Provost
Hutchinson were great actors. Yon should never take any famUiarity
with a Bishop, especiaUy in company. They are aU proud and jealous of
their superiority and powers, and of their sacred functions. A race for
the seals [ChanceUorship] can be won but by superlative enthusiasm,
watchfulness, temperance, dUigence, and acting. In poUtical life take
every possible advantage of persons in actual power. People as they
advance in years should retire from places of exhibition and entertain
ment. I have known several old men lose their Uves by being put out of
their way or out of their usual habits.' The Chief Justice's advice to age
cannot be compared with Swift's comical and caustic ' Things to remem
ber when I get old.'
^ Ireland Sixty Years Ago, p. 55. Habits of excessive drinking were
not at aU conflned to Ireland. When the Goldsmiths' Company eater-
t ained Pitt in their noble hall on May 13, 1784, a party of fifty drank
193 bottles of wine — probably mostly Port I

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 67
the upper classes the great consumption. Port was
recommended in its place, ' because it would not per
mit so long a sitting — a great advantage to wise men
in saving a great deal of their precious time.' The rule
of drinking was that no man should leave the company
tiU he was unable to stand, and then he might go, if he
could walk. The counsels from age to youth were :
' Make your head while you are young,' and ' No man
who drank ever died, but many died learning to drink.'
The habits to ensure a steady and loyal drinking
were grotesque. If a guest left the room, pieces of
paper were dropped into his glass, equal to the number
of rounds the bottle had gone during his absence, and
on his return he was obliged to swaUow a glass for
each, under the penalty of as many glasses of salt and
water. Often the bottles had .round bottoms ; stopping
the bottle was therefore impossible, and everyone was
obUged to fill his glass at once, and pass the bottle to
his neighbour, in peril of upsetting the contents. Often
the stems were knocked off the glasses, so that they
must be emptied as fast as they were fiUed, as they could
not stand. The guests sometimes, when they sat down,
had to take off their shoes, which were taken out of the
room, and emptied bottles were broken outside the
door, so that no one could leave tiU the party ended.
In a letter of John Beresford to AUen (' Beresford Cor
respondence,' i. 156) of January 26, 1781, describing
the Lord-Lieutenant and Chief Secretary, he says : ' Lord
Carlisle is thought stiff and distant. Eden, they say,
does not drink enough ' — showing one of the standards
then appUed to that worrying office. But if too much
¦E 2

68 PITT
was drunk, the hospitality was generous and genuine,
and the Attorney-General Scott (ib. 161), speaking of
the limits of his own room, refers with envy to the large
accommodation at Curraghmore, where Lord Tyrone
was able to have ' not less than three score and ten at
table every day.'
Secret societies ^ proved a most painful and danger
ous element in Ireland during the last half of the eigh
teenth century, and, indeed, long before and since, and
were in fuU vitality when Pitt took the office of Prime
Minister. The Whiteboys first appeared in 1761 in
Munster, and committed great outrages, but were
agrarian rather than political. In Ulster, about the
same time, attention was drawn to the ' Hearts of Oak '
and ' Hearts of Steel,' whose objects were also con
nected principaUy with land troubles. In 1785 the
' Eight Boys,' led by an imaginary ' Captain Eight,'
appeared, and were really a revival of the ' Whiteboys,'
and committed grievous outrages on tithe proctors,
agents, middlemen, and others. In the north a society
caUed ' Peep-o'-Day Boys,' or ' Protestant Boys,' or
'Wreckers,' had started up. and directed their efforts
against the Eoman Cathohcs, who combined again into
a new society caUed ' Defenders.' The secret societies
have always been a source of trouble and anxiety to
every Irish Government for many generations, and the
Irish Executive appointed by Pitt had to face this diffi
culty in full development.
' A useful short sketch of these societies may be found in a few pages
of Joyce's Concise History of Ireland, but aU should read the fuU and
interesting narrative in Mr. Lecky's history. The Local Distv/rbances of
Ireland, by G. C. Lewis, is also instructive.

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 69
At this time tithes were a great source of trouble.
All had to pay, no matter what their religion, whether
they belonged to the Established Church or were
Eoman Catholics or Dissenters. The grievance was
aggravated by the tithe proctors, or tithe farmers,
who collected tithes for absentee clergymen. These
men received generally a fixed proportion, a third
or a fourth, to pay for the collection, and it was said
that they extorted more than the law sanctioned. The
bitterness of feeling was increased because the rich
grazing farmers were exempt, which, of course, dis
couraged tiUage, and tended, on all sides, to throw the
country into grass land. This agrarian condition, com
bined with stagnation of trade, the result of the long
continued commercial restrictions, produced a situation
in Ireland which caUed for the wisdom of the wisest
and the strength of the strongest.
Pitt brought to the task a complete and enlightened
love of justice, and a determination to do what he
thought right. No statesman can ever do more.
When the Duke of Eutland, as Lord-Lieutenant,
went to Dublin, he rapidly applied himself to under
stand the position. He and Orde were EngUshmen
having no previous connection with Ireland, and he
had necessarily to avaU himself of the brains and ex
perience of the Irishmen he found in office in Dublin.
Two of them, John Fitzgibbon and John Beresford,
were men of great ability, great power and great
courage, and all through his administration he and
Orde relied immensely on them. They wielded great
authority and influence for many years in Ireland, and

70 PITT
in their several ways played great parts in the history
of their country.
John Beresford ^ was a man of powerful mind and
much resource and self-reUance, and for more than a
quarter of a century played a great part in the counsels
of Irish administration. He probably could have been
Speaker in 1771 had he been wiUing to resign his seat
on the Eevenue Board ; he was once sounded as to his
feelings about being Chief Secretary; and actuaUy
refused the Irish Chancellorship of the Exchequer
when Poster vacated that office to become Speaker.
His office at the Eevenue Board and his thorough
acquaintance with the fiscal relations of England and
Ireland made his counsel and aid most essential in the
discussion of the commercial resolutions. At Pitt's re
quest he went in advance of Foster to London in
order that he might be able to assist and advise during
the discussions in the Cabinet and in the House of
Commons. His correspondence with Orde during his
sojourn there shows how close an observer he was of
the whole position, and how truly he valued Pitt, and
how Uttle he valued the rest of the Cabinet. Eose
' John Beresford, born March 14, 1738, second son of Marcus, Earl of
Tyrone, and his wife the Baroness le Poer, the heiress of a long Une of
barons descending from Eoger le Poer, who accompanied Strongbow to
Ireland ; caUed to the Bar 1760, but never practised ; iu 1761 returned M.P.
for Waterford, which he continued to represent for forty- four years ; in 1770
appointed by Lord Townshend Commissioner of Eevenue ; in 1780 became
First Commissioner ; in 1768 sworn a member of the Privy CouncU in
Ireland ; iu 1786 sworn a member of that in England ; married, flrst,
Henrietta Constantine de Liguardes, granddaughter of the Count de
Liguardes ; second, Barbara, daughter of Sir W. Montgomery, sister to
the Marchioness Townshend and Lady Mountjoy. The three sisters sat
to Sir Joshua Eeynolds in his picture of ' The Three Graces Adorning the
Temple of Hymen,' now in the National GaUery.

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 71
thus describes him in a letter^ to Orde, August 7,
1785 : ' He is one of the pleasantest men in business I
have ever met with ; he has one point about him of
StiU higher consequence, which is that he ensures the
possession of the confidence of the person with whom
he is transacting matters.' Lord Clonmel^ in his
private Diary refers to the advantages which Beresford
enjoyed from ' the conciliatory awkward innocence of
his face ; ' and there can be no doubt that he got on
well in life and made many warm friends amongst
those with whom he was brought in contact. He was
from time to time most intimate with the different
Viceroys and Chief Secretaries with whom he served.
He carried on the closest, almost daily, correspondence
for years with Eden — afterwards Lord Auckland — and
the ' Beresford Correspondence ' is fuU of the letters of
the latter. His summary dismissal by Lord FitzwiUiam,
and the events consequent thereon, are well known,
and wUl be referred to more in detail in a subsequent
chapter. Beresford's letters to Orde are full of interest. They
show how closely he was mixed up with Pitt's Ufe
during his sojourn in London, there being frequent
statements of hours spent with him : many of his
letters were practicaUy dictated by Pitt, and he often
breakfasted and dined with him. The letters are
written freely, currente calamo, and contain views and
impressions off-hand. Beresford was behind the scenes
in London, was very frequently with Pitt, and would
1 Bolton MSS.
" Fitzpatrick's Ireland before the Union.

72 PITT
appear to have been summoned to be present at some
parts of several Cabinets.
Beresford did a great deal to beautify and improve
Dublin, and to make it the handsome city that it is.
To him is mainly due the erection of the Custom
House — a noble building — and his name is commemo
rated in the adjacent Beresford Place. To him Dublin
also owes the wideness of many of its important
streets, and the improving of their approaches, and at
Eden's own request he caUed Eden Quay after him.
The Duke of Eutland himself, from the first moment
that he landed in Ireland, applied himself to master
the position and needs of Ireland. His letter on
June 16, 1784, to Pitt,^ shows a vigorous grasp of the
difficulties to be met :
[Private] Dublin Castle : June 16, 1784.
My dear Pitt, —
Whatever advantages Great Britain may he enabled and
disposed to grant, let them be declared to be conclusive, I
must press this idea on your mind as a point in any arrange
ment indispensaMe, for as long as anything iudefinite remains
for expectation to feed upon this country will never be at peace.
The question of reform, should it be carried in England,
would tend greatly to increase our difficulties, and I do not see
how it will be evaded. In England it is a delicate question, but
in this country it is difficult and dangerous in the last degree.
The views of the Catholics render it extremely hazardous, and
though Lord Charlemont and Mr. Flood seem to exclude them
from their ideas of reform, yet in some late meetings, and in
one particularly held in this city, the point entirely ran on their
admission to vote, which was carried with a single negative.
Your proposition of a certain proportionable addition of
' Butlamd Correspondence,

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 73
county members would be the least exceptionable, and might
not perhaps materially interfere with the system of Parliament
in this country, which, though it must be confessed it does not
bear the smallest resemblance to representation, I do not see how
quiet and good government could exist under any more popular
mode. I should say that without a union Ireland will not be con
nected with Great Britain in twenty years longer.
Believe me to be, &c.
Eutland.
The mode of communication between the Govern
ment in London and the Irish Administration was
by messenger. The letters show that the messengers
sometimes took four or even five days in their journey,
and Orde alludes to one being forty hours at sea.^ It
may have been a check on the messengers, but ahnost
aU the letters state the very hour and minute at which
they were written. Eutland was thoroughly loyal to
his chief and coUeagues, straight and reliable. After
the defeat of the resolutions in the Irish House of
Commons, he put away all cowardly ideas of resigna
tion, and wrote to Pitt : ^ ' No alteration shall take
place in my determination. I wiU never think of
quitting my station while I can render an iota of
strength to your Government, or to the great cause in
which we are embarked.'
He was a sincere friend of Orde, for whom he had
^ A favourable passage would take about twelve hours. Lord Lothian
writes to the Duke of Rutland in 1786 : ' I landed after a passage of
twenty-four hours, for which I paid eighteen guineas ' (Hist, MSS. Com,,
Butland Correspondence, iii. 333).
* Butland Correspondence.

74 PITT
great respect. When, after the defeat in the House
of Commons, representations were made to Pitt against
Orde (a scapegoat is sometimes desired), he communi
cated with the Viceroy, and the Duke of Eutland sent
such a reply ^ that Pitt at once laid aside the subject.
He said,^ ' It is impossible for me to consent to his
being made a sacrifice to idle prejudice or Ul-founded
clamour.' The Duke traveUed much in Ireland, and visited at
Curraghmore and other places. His journal has
already been referred to. He died after a very short iU
ness on October 23, 1787, and was very widely regretted
by all classes with whom he had come in contact in
Ireland. The Duke of Eutland was a great lover of art, and
kept up a close and intimate correspondence with Sir
Joshua Eeynolds, through whom he purchased some
celebrated pictures. He pressed the great painter on
several occasions to visit him in Ireland, but Eeynolds
seemed to think he was safer in London. Pulteney, who
was a kind of confidential political correspondent of the
Duke, and who sat for one of his seats, wrote ^ in May
1784 : 'I saw Sir Joshua Eeynolds a week ago, and he
says he never was in so much suspense in his life as
whether he will visit on your Grace this summer. I
endeavoured to assure him how quiet he would find
Ireland, in spite of any accounts in the papers, and he
said at last he thought he would venture over.'
Eeynolds himself in the foUowing September writes
' Hist. MSS. Com., Butland Correspondence, iii. 98. ^ Pretyman MSS.
^ Hist. MSS. Com., Butland Correspondence, in. 98. * Ibid, in. 139

THE DUKE OF RUTLAND 75
to the Duke from Belvoir : ' I should be glad to pro
ceed to Ireland, but I heard yesterday from Mrs.
Siddons such a sad account of the Liberty Boys, that I
have hardly courage to venture ; she came away in a
terrible fright, and has not yet recovered herself.'
In the same letter he refers to his recent appoint
ment : ' The place which I have the honour of holding
of the King's principal portrait painter is a place of not
so much profit and of near equal dignity with his
Majesty's rat-catcher. The salary is 38/. per annum,
and for every whole length I am to be paid 50/., instead
of 200/., which I have from everybody else. Your
Grace sees that this new honour is not likely to elate
me very much. I need not make any resolution to
behave with the same familiarity as I used to with my
old acquaintance.'
It would appear from a subsequent letter that the
reduction from 200/. to 50/. was an innovation, possibly
due to the thrifty views of the King and the indifference
to art shown by Pitt, one of his weakest points.
Writing ^ the following year, Eeynolds said he feared
Mr. Pitt had not much attraction to the arts, and asked
for the Duke's influence to get him the post of Secretary
to the Order of the Bath as a kind of compensation for
the reduction. He added, as an inducement to the
Viceroy, ' though, as I said before, the difficulties of my
visiting Ireland are very great, yet in this case, if your
Grace can procure me this honourable place, I should
think it an indispensable duty to make my personal
appearance to return my thanks with the Order about
' Hist, MSS. Com., Butland Correspondence, ui. 229.

76 PITT
my neck, though not on my shoulder.' Some of these
siUy fears about visiting Ireland stiU exist, though there
are no people in the world more courteous and polite
to visitors and tourists than the Irish. They may some
times have little domestic arguments, but they never
think of troubling strangers with them.
The Duke of Eutland was a grand seigneur. His
correspondence contains many letters from KendaU
about procuring the choicest wines and the rarest
vintages, and also about getting his cooks improved on
the Continent. The foUowing from one of Kendall's
letters ^ shows his employment : ' I wish it had been
convenient to send your cook Jones two months sooner ;
most of our capital houses at VersaiUes and Paris are
broken up for the summer. Nevertheless, he employs
his time very well in the Duke of Orleans' kitchen, and
in that of the Archbishop of Narbonne. ... I am glad
the coffee cup pleased you, but am surprised that the
chocolate cup has not been forwarded. It was delivered
to Lord Chesterfield with the instructions to remit it to
Mr. Sneyd, of the Secretary of State office.' He mentions
in a subsequent letter that he had obtained a promise that
the Duke's cook, who was then ' fixed ' in the Duke of
Orleans' kitchen, should be present at any extraordinary
effort of skiU in any other kitchen !
The opinion of his contemporaries rated the Duke of
Eutland very high, and there can be but little doubt that
if his life had not so prematurely ended he would have
attained a still more commanding influence in public
life. ' Hist. MSS, Com., Butland Correspondence, iii. 335.

ry] faji/ ,ryfi^n

'_y/irfru/.i I r///

77

CHAPTEE III
OEDE
Orde's birth — Family — Delicacy — His letters — Importance of just com
mercial relations between England and Ireland — Pitt did not hurry —
His letter to Orde on general Irish position — Further letter — Orde to
Pitt — Pitt to Orde on importance of estabUshing fixed principles — -Just
commercial arrangement — Eeform — Eesolution to create no Dukes —
Pitt lays down fundamental principles of policy towards Ireland —
Consulting the judges — Effort to caU a Congress — Orde on the Con
gress — Pitt anxious to find out opinions as to reforms — Congress —
Proceedings against Conveners — Pitt to Eutland and Orde — Anxious
for same duties as in Great Britain on foreign articles — Resolutions
introduced — Orde made concessions — Pitt took quick exception —
Eose — His views — Pitt carrying resolutions through Westminster —
Orde's pocket-book about M.P.'s — Paper as to price of M.P.'s — Orde's
frequent letters — Very adroit — Orde's health not good — ^Offered to
resign — Pitt pressed him to stay on — Arthur WeUesley.
The Eight Honourable Thomas Orde,^ the first Chief
Secretary under Pitt, was a member of an old Northum
brian family, whose brother was a distinguished naval
officer, a comrade of Nelson.
He was an able, experienced, and most loyal and
industrious public servant, who won the confidence of
1 The Eight Hon. Thomas Orde, born 1748 ; M.P. for Aylesbury 1780,
for Harwich 1784, again for Harwich 1790; appointed, 1782, Secretary
to the Treasury ; 1784, Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant ; married,
1778, Anne Powlett, daughter of Charles, last Duke of Bolton, and took
the name of Orde-Powlett 1794, when, on the death of her father, his wife
inherited the Bolton estates ; created, 1797, Baron Bolton ; he was also
a Privy Councillor, and later Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire ; died 1807.
The present Lord Bolton is his great-grandson.

78 PITT
Pitt and the esteem and friendship of the Duke of
Eutland. Although only thirty-six when appointed to
Ireland, ahnost all through his official life there he
was not in good health, and suffered from his eyes and
general dehcacy. He had to go several times to Bath
and to Spa, both then great health resorts, but he stuck
steadily to his work as long as he could. He was a
copious letter-writer and took great care of his corre
spondence. He kept three large letter-books — one with
copies of some of his own more important letters,
another with copies of some of those of leading pubUc
men, and another of correspondence about places, offices
and patronage.
At once on going to Ireland he was returned by
Government influence for the borough of Eathcormick,
and had ^ to take immediate charge of the conduct of
official business in the Irish House of Commons, then
enriched by the presence of many great men and
splendid orators. He appears not to have excited any
hostile or bitter feeUngs, and to have enjoyed con
sideration and respect. His correspondence suggests
that he was able, prudent, circumspect and cautious ;
a man who knew how to keep his own counsel. The
notes of his speech in the House of Commons on the
commercial resolutions are very fuU, and suggest that
his speech was most conciliatory, able, well reasoned
and clear.
1 ' Mr. Orde took his seat Saturday, and spoke weU. I cannot ade
quately express his unwearied exertions and prudent management ' (Hist.
MSS, Com., Butland Correspondence, in. 80). ' In ParUament I have
always been informed he is patient, manly, and dignified, not afraid to
combat even the most formidable opponents ' (Duke of Eutland to Pitt,
November 5, 1785, Pretyman MSS.).

ORDE 79
The establishment of sound, liberal and just com
mercial relations between Great Britain and Ireland
was an object of the last importance to Ireland. Unless
some reasonable and fair plan was adopted, in a spirit
of mutual concession, there was nothing for it but to go
on in some uncertain, undefined way, with possibly the
chances of a war of tariffs, and the risk of protection
being adopted by one country against the other.
Pitt did not at aU rush into his attempted settle
ment of the commercial arrangements between the two
countries. He allowed months to pass before he for
mulated any plan, and during this interval he was
applying himself to master the general situation and to
allow the Viceroy and Chief Secretary to do so also.
The foUowing letters ^ of Pitt to Orde, written not
many months after his acceptance of office, are inter
esting, and show how rapidly he was getting familiar
with the Irish political atmosphere :
[Private] Putney Heath : Friday Night, August 20, 1784.
My dear Sir, — I take the first moment after the close of the
session to thank you for the satisfaction of your letters, and to
begin my part of the correspondence which on every account I
shall be obliged to you for making as frequent as your time will
permit. I am happy to collect from your accounts that you do
not upon the whole entertain a more unfavourable opinion of
the aspect of affairs. I confess I have been very anxious from
the unlucky affray which seemed capable of turning again the
tide just as it was beginning to be rather more in our favour.
I hope, as we have heard nothing farther, the consequences have
not been very material. Lord Harrington's letter, which is
published, ought to conciliate. I still feel, however, that if
1 Bolton MSS.

80 PITT
there remains any ill humour on the subject, it would be better
handsomely to get rid of the persons concerned than to let
Government be at all mixed in the business.
What you mention of the decay of the Volunteers is one of
the best circumstances. I shall be very glad to have an account
as Well as it can be made out of their numbers on the whole,
and of the most active persons, and the most considerable,
either in ability or property, who take part with them in the
diiferent parts of the country. If amy way can be found to
detach from the cause any considerable number, after the
example of the Carrickfergus corps, it would be a great object.
I should think, perhaps, with management, such a thing might
be practicable, but that you can judge of much better. I agree
quite with you that nothing more could be done in the present
moment with regard to the Carrickfergus corps than commend
ing and encouraging their loyalty. A direct assistance from
Government, either of arms or money, might in many respects
be hazardous. The business of the county meeting I am sure
you will have attended is an object of great delicacy. It seems
to me necessary on the one hand to cherish the spirit of any
friends of Govemment who will stand forth, and on the other
hand not to give the friends to disorder any advantage by
encouraging anything that can be construed into an attack on
the legal rights of petitioning. Wherever the Sheriffs or any
leading men have found that just medium, and taken both a
spirited and temperate line (which, I hope, is the case in some
instances), undoubtedly we shall all feel that they cannot be
enough distinguished by the favour of Government. At the
same time that you furnish an account of the Volunteers I shall
be obliged to you if you will also state what the force is of our
military, and how stationed with a view to the most important
districts ; I mention this rather from an anxiety to be possessed
of the important facts than from allowing myself to fear that
any event is likely to bring such considerations into immediate
question. The madness of the Bishop of Derry,' though certainly not
innocent, has not yet, I should think, reached to legal guilt of
' Lord Bristol.

ORDE 81
such magnitude as to admit of any vigorous and decisive pro
ceedings. I am clear, as I am persuaded you are, that no blow
should be menaced till it can be struck. I hope you will be as
successful as you expect in interesting the oracles of modern
times — the newspapers — in your favour. Though not the most
glorious, they are, I am sure, both here and in Ireland, the
most effectual, and perhaps both the cheapest and the most
harmless engines that Government in such circumstances can
employ. Tou will receive from Lord Sydney a copy of the
Speech from the Throne. The last paragraph, you wUl perceive,
was inserted with a view to that we talked of, and, I hope, will
meet your ideas. I wait impatiently, though with no wonder
at the delay when so much is to be done, for the heads of the
Commercial Investigation which you have promised me. I
must trouble you now with three applications which have been
made to me, on which, as on everything which relates to
Ireland, I have given no answer till I can hear the Duke of
Rutland's sentiments. Lord Mulgrave, understanding that
persons near him in the peerage are to be earls, is anxious to
obtain that step. If it is not inconvenient, his conduct has
been so honourable and handsome that I should rejoice in for
warding his wishes. If there is any real objection I only wash
to be able to state to him what it is. I find, too, from him that
Mr. Dillon (I believe his relation), who, though in present em
barrassment, is the owner of an immense property, and is already
a privy councillor, wishes to be made a baron. He professes
great zeal, and thinks his influence may be of considerable use.
I have no direct application from Mr. Dillon. I wish to know
how far you think him of consequence, that I may either damp
the idea, or to encourage it so far as to let him apply to the
Duke of Eutland upon it. The last thing relates to Lord
Arden (Mr. Percival that was), who has now Irish property
which he means to visit, and wishes to be an Irish privy coun
cillor. I have a great regard for him, and wish it for his sake
if it is unexceptionable ; not otherwise.
I am obliged to you for the account of Lord Townshend,
and shall be glad if you can find an opportunity of returning
expressions of regard, though I do not see my way at present to
G

82 PITT
go much further. If it could be practicable, I should be very
glad of it. I am afraid I cannot yet bind myself to any precise
time for General LuttreU, though I shall be really desirous to
gratify him as soon as possible.
With regard to the fisheries, on that subject as well as any
other relating to commerce, nothing will certainly be done in
this country without considering how Ireland, as a part of the
Empire, will be affected by it.
I will not fatigue you more at this time, but shall be much
obliged to you for every communication you can send me, and
will trouble you with everything from hence that seems material
to be knovm.
Our session has concluded most triumphantly, and nothing
but untoward events can give Opposition a chance to make a
better figure the next.
Pray make my most affectionate compliments to the Duke,
and believe me, with great truth and esteem, my dear sir,
Most sincerely yours,
W. Pitt.
[Private] Putney Heath : Thursday Night, August 25, 1784.
My dear Sir, — I am much obliged to you for the interesting
letters which I received by the last messenger from Dublin. I
impatiently wait for the result of your further investigation.
In the present stage of what you inform me of, nothing
more occurs to me than earnestly to recommend to you not to
let anything you discover to be made public, and it is fully
certain that you know the whole extent of the plans that have
been in agitation, and as far as possible all the persons any way
concerned in them.
I am aware that an early publication of the intrigues of
France (if the facts should answer your expectation) would
strike an immediate damp on the operations of the discontented,
and perhaps diminish greatly the difficulties of the present
moment. But unless you are sure that your discoveries have
gone to the root, the evil will be suspended, but not cured. In
the country, too, the blame will be very great, and the effect
perhaps on the state of our credit serious, if news should tran-

ORDE 83
spire of Prance taking a part in Ireland, and if the same
moment does not also publish that her designs are known
to the inmost, and defeated. It would also be a matter of
serious and delicate consideration, what language ought to be
held to the Court of Prance if the Court should appear to be at
all involved in the business, or even if the charge is traced
home to any French subjects. Interference of this sort, the
moment we have proof of it cannot be tolerated, but the manner
of taking notice of it cannot be too much considered.
I should therefore allow these reasons to be stated to the
Duke of Rutland, as making me anxious, if it be possible, that
before any particulars are made known in Ireland an exact
account should be transmitted hither, that we may have time,
before any public eclat, to take in concert whatever measure
may be necessary. I trust there is little reason to fear anything
from the personal attacks which these villains had proposed to
themselves, though it increases at the same time not a little
my anxiety for constant information. Tou will have the good
ness to give my affectionate compliments to the Duke, and
show him what I have written. Adieu.
Tours faithfully and sincerely,
W. Pitt.
On the same August 25, 1784, Orde wrote a long
letter ^ to Pitt, going into much detail on the mattera
then occupying his attention. He mentioned how
necessary it was to employ the military to execute ' the
sentences of the law,' and the exertions then made ta
provoke them, or at all events to represent them as
employed solely to enforce ' the most oppressive and
tyrannical measures ' ; that party tumults and disorders
were used to engage the attention of the public while
serious plans are devising ' for the destruction of every
remnant of law and subordination ' ; that there could
hardly be a doubt that the intention was, not a mere
1 Bolton MSS, e2

84 PITT
non-importation agreement or a parhamentary reform,
or even a dissolution of Parliament, but an ' entire
dissolution of the subsisting connection with Great
Britain ' ; that it was his opinion that they would seek
to effect their purposes by the Cathohcs ; and he adds :
' It is stated that an open attempt is absolutely to be
made immediately to throw off aU connection with
Great Britain, and that of course this is to be supported
by foreign assistance.' He mentioned that Father
O'Leary's terms were lOOZ. per annum, and that he was
desired to ' open himself to whoever sends for him ' ;
that it was said that O'Leary had been ' connected with
Mr. Fox in the Westminster business,' yet, he added :
' I beheve we could have him securely for money and
good words. I pray you not to neglect him.'
At the close of his letter he uses worthy and states-
manhke language : ' I shaU repeat what I have always
said — everything tends to strengthen the sentiment : act
towards Ireland with the utmost UberaUty consistent
with your own safety ; it must in the long run be the
wisest pohcy. But you are nevertheless not to forget
that you must not hope to please everybody, and
especiaUy in this country. You wiU have regard only
to what in reason ought to satisfy Ireland, and not to
what wiU satisfy her. Let her be sure of the firm and
fixed decision, and she wiU then, and not tiU then,
begin to consider to which of her great means, and
indeed blessings, she should best turn for enjoyment.'
Subsequent holders of Orde's office might sometimes
have used language not unlike some of his sentences
and experienced some of his difficulties. In a subse-

ORDE 85
quent letter of September 8, 1784,^ Orde said to Pitt :
' There is a settled resolution to attempt a perfect sepa
ration between the two countries.' Pitt, in the foUow
ing letter to Orde,^ gives with great fulness his views
on several important matters. Brighthelmstone : Sunday, Sept. 19, 1784.
My dear Sir, — Before I left town yesterday I received by
the post your letter, dated the 12th. I hope the wind will not
long retard a particular account of such discoveries as you have
been enabled to make. On so delicate and important a subject
I have infinite satisfaction that both the vigilance and discretion
with which you pursue it may be fully relied upon. Tou vrill,
I am sure, see the reasons which have induced me to wish that
no measures may be taken in consequence of your information
that may commit Govemment to any extent vrithout previous
concert here. ... As far as I can now judge, we need not meet
until the end of January, and I think, if I recollect right, you
seemed to think of about the same period. The points that
now present themselves for discussion are not without delicacy
and difficulty ; but what appears to me more delicate and diffi
cult than the arrangement of any one or all the specific points
that can be stated, is to endeavour to establish some fixed prin
ciples which may from time to time be applied to new circum
stances as they arise in the relative situations of the two
countries. It is not enough if we settle what shall be the
modification of the Navigation Act, or what shall be the propor
tion of duties on certain commodities. We must, in order to
make a permanent and tranquil system, find some line according
to which the Parliaments of the two countries may exercise the
rights of legislation, without clashing with each other on the
one hand, or, on the other, being encumbered by the necessity
of actual and positive concert on every point of common concern.
We experienced the difficulty of the latter part of this alternative
in the end of last session, in the Smuggling Act. . . . Another
general consideration, and of great leading importance, will be
1 Bolton MSS. " Ibid,

86 PITT
with regard to the increase of revenue collected in Ireland, which
must in progress of time be the result of any extensive com
munication of fresh commercial advantages which this country
may make to Ireland. And, as part of both the former con
siderations, it will be to be settled how far Great Britain should
have the power, in case of any alterations of port duties in this
country, to compel Ireland to keep pace with them in similar
alterations relative to the same objects in this country. It is
certainly on general principles desirable {though with some reser
vations a/rising from the actual circumstances') that the system of
commerce should be so arranged as to extend the aggregate
wealth of Great Britain and Ireland to its utmost limit, without
partiality or preference to one part of the Empire or the other.
But for this purpose two things seem fundamentally requisite.
One, that Ireland, which will thus gain upon England in relative
strength and riches, should proportionately relieve her of the
burden which she now sustains exclusively. The other, that
this increase of strength and riches in Ireland may really prove
either a positive addition to that of the Empire at large, or at
least a transfer only from one member of it to the other, and
may not in the end be so nmch taken from ourselves and given to
a separate country. The security of this last point must depend
upon the cordiality and friendship which ought to be the efiect
of a liberal system, and perhaps also on endeavouring so to
settle the arrangement as that what is given to Ireland may
rather augment their wealth and navigation, and the seeds of
resources of power to the empire at large, than put them in
possession of any actual force capable of being at anytime inde
pendently exerted under their separate direction. One distinct
object, and indeed the principal one in this view of the matter,
is that of naval strength. It is of the utmost importance to
have that well considered in any settlement to be made. By
what you say on that subject, Ireland has not yet aspired to a
separate navy of her own I do not know with any precision
what advantages she has to enable her to attempt it, but it is a
matter not unlikely to be started in the course of the discussion.
The operation, indeed, of many of these speculations is remote.
It may be long before the industry and the capital of Ireland

ORDE 87
are sufficient to bring forward the application of them to
practice. But in such a question as this we must look to
remote as well as to immediate consequences ; and it is always
possible that, in so great a change as that made in the situation
of Ireland by what has been done, and perhaps may yet remain
to be done, that the efiects may be more rapid than any calcula
tions can now foresee. It would, however, be running beyond
the mark to enter minutely into this consideration till it is
certain what remains that can be given and what must be with
held; that must be the result of full investigation on all the
points that are suggested. After all, the great question remains :
What is it that in truth will give satisfaction and restore per
manent tranquility to Ireland ? Much has been given already,
and the eifect has been very little in proportion. It will be idle
to make concessions without having good ground to think that
they will attain their object. I believe what you have stated
to be perfectly just — that the internal poverty and distress of the
country is the radical cause of all the discontent that prevails.
Of that the cure must be gradual and probably slow. The
utmost present eff'ect, then, of any measures we can take will be
to remove or diminish the pretexts of discontent, and to eradicate
the cause of it must be the work of time ; or at most, if we
remove some things that are perhaps not barely pretexts but
real additional causes of discontent, that one great cause will still
remain. In such a situation we can only hope to prevent in
some degree the most mischievous efiects of what we cannot at
once remove, and must trust to the progressive operation of a
prudent system to extinguish at length the seeds of this disorder.
In the meantime, things have seemed to threaten a premature
crisis, and if the tide goes on against us we shall either have an
opportunity to introduce the only salutary system, or time will
not be allowed for its effect to operate. It is therefore of the
utmost importance to take out of the hands of the disaffected
whatever may enable them in these circumstances to push
things to an extremity. In this respect the question of parlia
mentary reform, considering it only as a matter of present
expediency, is of infinite importance. In the manner in which
it has lately been pushed in Ireland I have no difficulty in say-

88 PITT
ing it must be vigorously resisted. There is no pretence for
arguing that the conduct of the Parliament of Ireland justifies
the people in recurring to original rights and considering the
present Constitution as dissolved. The language of the Belfast
petition seemed to me to convey this construction, and in this
view I wrote them an answer to their application to me to
present it, a copy of which I enclose for yonr information. But
it is totally another question whether a sober and rational
reform, peaceably proposed and calmly considered, ought to be
resisted. I am aware of the arguments against giving way in
any degree. It is feared that we shall disgust those who are
now the chief support of Government, by showing a disposition
to admit what many of them are personally interested in oppos
ing ; that a reform from which the Catholics are excluded (which
beyond a doubt they must be) will give them fresh ground for
dissatisfaction ; and that perhaps a reform in the representation
would render "Parliament too subservient to the prejudices or
opinions of the Irish nation to acquiesce in an English Govern
ment. These three objections are the principal that have
reached me. I have weighed them again and again, and in the
critical situation of our interests in Ireland I feel that they are
material. But I doubt, with regard to the first, whether the
advantage of the support we endeavour to keep is not counter
balanced by the opposition we create ; and further, I do not
despair that an adequate plan of reform might be so far recon
ciled to private interest as to leave individuals no great cause of
complaint or disgust, especially when we consider how much
still remains to make them court the protection of Government,
and how much they would find their own security against greater
danger in any measure which made that Government more
generally popular.
As to the effect on the Catholics : I do not know that a
reform would make them feel their situation the more galUng,
unless it proceeds on the idea of universal suffrage being essen
tial to liberty. I trust that the bulk of reformers look to some
principle far short of that, and totally distinct from it. I conceive
(too) that the incentive to the leaders among the Catholics is not
any theoretical principle of government, much less of liberty.

ORDE 89
but the hope of one way or other regaining property and power.
This motive equally operates in the present state of Parliament,
and would continue to influence them if the object of reform
could be put totally out of the question. They may indeed join
at present in the cry of reform, in hopes that it may be made
conducive to their real object; but for that very reason, ought it
not to be our aim to separate the cause of reform from theirs,
and by that means to unite the Protestant interest against them,
great part of which may otherwise remain united with them till
it is too late ? My reasoning, therefore, is that the Catholics will
not be more disaffected in consequence of a reform ; that the
Protestants will be better satisfied ; and that, therefore, by
acceding to it, we shall most effectually guard against the real
danger arising from the designs of the Catholics, formulated and
supported by Foreign Powers. To the third objection the great
and clear answer, I think, is that the Government can never be
carried on to any good purpose by a majority in Pa/rliament
alone, if that Parliament becomes generally and lastingly un
popular. We may keep the Parliament, but lose the people.'
I doubt, too, whether there is so much ground for apprehension
from a Parliament more under the influence of a common
interest with that of the body of the people. I have indeed
before argued on the supposition that the seeds of discontent
may continue in spite of any measures we may take ; but still I
think that, after settling liberally the commercial plan and
agreeing to some reform, there could not immediately be any
great national point of difference on which a Parliament, how
ever constituted, would be likely to urge demands against the
interests of this country. The people, by having to a certain
degree a confidence in Parliament, will go to less excess than
left to the guidance of every impulse without doors. At all
events, even if the Parliament of Ireland should be brought to
invent or countenance new demands which we could not grant,
a stand must be made against them. Nor do I think this
^ It is interesting to note that Grattan used nearly the same words in
writuig to Edmund Burke on March 14, 1795 : ' They wUl have the
ParUament, but they have lost the people ' (Burke's Speeches, iv. 294.
Eidge way).

90 PITT
country would be less able to make a stand on good ground, even
against the Parliament, than with a Parliament on questionable
ground against the people. Tou see the foundation of all my
reasoning on the subject is on the supposition that a great part
of the people is really zealous in favour of reform, and would be
contented with a practicable plan. To judge fairly of this, how
ever, I feel the want of a more local information than I have at
present. I have stated to you in the most perfect confidence all
the ideas that at present occupy my mind. But I am completely
open to information and to reasoning. '^ I will beg you to let
me know particularly, as far as you can ascertain, what you take
to be the real temper of men's minds on both sides in this ques
tion, what is the number and weight of those who espouse the
idea, and of those who are carried either by interest or opinion
against it. For this purpose, whenever you are able, I would
be glad to have an account of the leading parliamentary interests
and the names and circumstances of the proprietors of boroughs.
I wish, too, to learn from you fully and impartially whatever
strikes you on the subject, and on any of the observations I have
troubled you with. I feel and know its importance in a thousand
respects, and I am most truly anxious to receive every light
upon it. I do not wish to detain you longer at present, and
possibly I may hear from you again before any messenger is
despatched. There are only one or two points on which I must add a few
words. I feel extremely what you have at different times stated
with regard to the Catholic levies, and I wish much to hear
whether any mode has occurred to you in which it can be
possible to check them. The thing appears to me to be of great
delicacy. I have lately heard a great deal on Sir Patrick
Bellew as being the efficient leader of that party. Have you any
particular information concerning him ? I enclose you a letter
I received some little time since from Mr. Miles, and one which
it contained from Sir B. Newenham to him. Tou will see I
' This aU through life was one of Pitt's greatest characteristics. He
was ever open to reason. ' No man ever listened more attentively to
what was stated against his own opinions ' (Private Papers of William
Wilberforce, 1897. Fisher Unwin).

ORDE 91
must beg you to retum them. It seems to me that this letter is
meant as a blind : I hardly think it can be prudent to endeavour
to make any use of Mr. Miles under these circumstances. I
wish to mention to you one thing more in entire confidence, and
with regard to which I shall be much obliged to you for your
opinion as speedily as possible. I have been trying what can
be done on the subject of Lord Shelburne, and on which you
know my earnest wishes. I believe there is a resolution to create
no dulces not of the Royal Family. If that cannot be overcome,
do you apprehend he will be pleased with the offer of a mar
quisate ? As far as that, would be practicable. Lord Temple
must be included in the same promotion.
Adieu, my dear sir. Believe me to be, with greatest truth
and regard, most faithfully and sincerely yours,
W. Pitt.
I hope to hear on the subject of Lord Mulgrave, Mr.
Dillon, etc.
It is manifest that at this time there was great un
easiness felt by the Irish Executive in reference to
treasonable and disloyal sentiments in the country, and
their possible encouragement by foreign intrigues, and
notably by France. Pitt deserves aU the more credit
for adhering unmoved to the path which he had
marked out for himself of right and justice.
In the following letter of September 25, 1784,^ to
Orde, Pitt stated the necessity of establishing some
fundamental principles in his policy with regard to
Ireland, and discussed the danger of the Congress sum
moned to meet in Dublin in the next month, and which
summoning was so vigorously interfered with by Fitz
gibbon ; and also referred to a suggestion of Orde's to
consult the twelve judges as to the legaUty of the Con-
> Bolton MSS.

92 PITT
gress. Nothing definite in reference to this suggested
consultation of the judges appears to have been actuaUy
done. Orde, in his subsequent letter (October 4, 1784),
rather receded from the suggestion — stating obstacles
in the way. He possibly was advised that he had no
Constitutional power to consult the judges as to the
legaUty of a matter of administrative pohcy and ex
pediency. The judges maybe summoned to the House
of Lords to advise in its judicial proceedings, but the
Executive could hardly expect judges to advise as to
conduct the legality of which might afterwards have
to be judiciaUy investigated before them. Possibly
Fitzgibbon's advice was deemed sufficient, and Pitt said
he would also consult the Lord ChanceUor and Lord
Camden. Lord Mansfield in a letter ^ to Eutland on
October 14, 1784, said plainly, 'You must not consult
the English or Irish judges on any question ; they wiU
not answer.' Brighthelmstone : Saturday, September 25, 1784.
My dear Sir, — ^The volume which I wrote to you last Sunday
I have detained till this time, in hopes of hearing from you
before I sent a messenger. I received last night your letter of
the 17th, brought by Mr. Mackenzie, and this morning that of
the 20th, which accompanied the despatches to Lord Sydney.
Much of what I had written does not apply to the precise
circumstances of the present moment, but the general question
to which it relates must depend in a great measure on the
system ultimately to be pursued, and therefore I still send it,
only repeating my eamest wish that you will write to me with
the utmost freedom in answer to my speculations. At the
distance I am, I know that I am not as capable of judging of all
the circumstances as those who have a nearer view.
I desire only to hear fully your opinion when it differs from
' Hist. MSS. Com., Butland Correspondence, iii. 143.

ORDE 93
my own, and the reasons and facts which decide your mind. I
am fully open to give the whole the most impartial consideration.
The more I reflect upon it the more I feel the necessity of
establishing some fundamental principles in our policy in
regard to Ireland, and laying the ground of a permanent system.
In this view I wish to discuss freely every point that can throw
light on the subject, in order that when the line is once
deliberately taken it may be unalterably adhered to.
When I speak thus of a system as a thing still to be formed,
I do not mean that I have formed no fixed opinions with regard
to any part of the present situation. On some leading points,
as I trust you will have perceived in the tenor of all I have
written, my mind is perfectly clear. The immediate subject of
your late intelligence is one of them. Revolving as I am the
general question of reform, I am decided in the opinion of
resisting attempts to reform which either in their principle or
mode of their being conducted strike at the foundation of
Govemment. In this view I approve perfectly of the endeavours
to check the Dublin meeting and everything of the same com
plexion. If these assemblies were for the purpose of appointing
delegates to join in petitions or to concert on general Constitu
tional means of procuring a reform, I should hold such an object
perfectly Constitutional, and of course such a meeting perfectly
legal. But when the express purpose for which they are called
is avowed to be (as it is in the Sheriffs' advertisement) to
supersede both the form and substance of legal government by
creating a new representative body under the appearance of
regular authority, I have no doubt that such an attempt is
highly unwarrantable. By the same reasoning the Congress (if
ever it meets) will come under the same observation, if it
assumes to itself the authoritative functions of a legal represen
tative, and may thus require the interposition of executive
government. But I think the distinction I mention, between
meeting to communicate sentiments on public matters and to concert
legal measures and those of such a description as I have been
speaking of, of the utmost importance, both on account of the
real principle in which such a distinction, I think, is founded,
and on account of the construction which our conduct will

94 PITT
carry in the eye of the public, as well as the consequences to be
produced by it. At all events, however just our principle,
there cannot be too much caution in the manner of applying
and enforcing it. I do not wish that prudence should extinguish
spirit, but that the former should, by directing the exertions of
the latter, secure its effect. I rely most fully on the Duke, as
well as yourself, for the just and happy mixture of both. Tou
will find, I promise you, the Government here fully disposed to
do justice to your exertions, and ready to second you to the
utmost. I am inclined to think what has happened in Dublin
will strike such a damp on the party that the intended Congress
cannot take place. ... A representation mutilated as the Congress
will be, by the opposition or neutrality of different parts ofthe
kingdom, will not be able to impose even on the minds the most
willing to bow to its authority. The discordant principles of
which it will be composed will contribute still more to sink its
importance. On every account, too much pains cannot be
taken to encourage the salutary jealousy of the designs of the
Catholics which begins to show itself. That capital line of
division will rend asunder the whole fabric which has been
rearing. Finally, too, in my opinion, the Protestant ' interest
must be the bond of union between Ireland and this country.
I shall therefore look with the greatest eagerness for the issue
of the meetings in all the different parts of the kingdom. Will
you have the goodness, when you can, to send me a list of the
counties where the attempt has succeeded and where failed, as
well as the influence, if possible, which has governed them.
This, as well as the state of the pa/rliamentary interests, I should be
glad to have as soon as possible. I have really great reluctance
in troubling you so much, loaded as you are with business ; but
your zeal will, I am sure, allow for the motive which guides me.
Tou say you mean to put questions to the twelve judges
respecting the Congress. Tou will, I am sure, have thought of
the necessity of keeping the question a secret till you are
1 Grattan also had the strongest Protestant views. In 1793 he wrote :
' The Protestant interest my flrst object, I shaU never assent to any
measure tending to shake the security of property or to subvert the Pro
testant ascendancy.' Miscell, Works, 289 : quoted by Mr. Lecky and Mr.
T. D. Ingram.

ORDE 96
certain of the answer and prepared for the measures in conse
quence. I should wish, for further satisfaction, to consult our
lawyers here, particularly the Chancellor and Lord Camden. I
shall, therefore, be obliged to you if you will send me the state
ment of the case you mean to put to your judges, and of the cir
cumstances which throw any light on the character of the in
tended meeting. The time of the meeting is the 25th of October :
we have, therefore, no time to lose in forming a decision.
In looking over the interceptions you sent me, I am at a
loss to account for the style of Sir E. N.' Though zealous for
reform, his expressions with regard to the Papists, and even as
to the connection with this country, do not tally with the
intelligence you received. It almost looks as if he meant these
letters to be opened, and wrote his true sentiments through
some other channel. I shall be glad to have back again his
letters to me, with your opinion what I should do with regard
to him, to correspond best with your measures. I forgot, in
speaking of the Papists, to say how much I rejoice in the hope you
' entertain of bringing the better sort of them to declare publicly
a just sense of their situation. No pains should be spared to
promote so important and beneficial a measure. I am endeavour
ing to prepare myself with materials, as well as I can, for
the commercial arrangements. In truth, without minute
investigation of the particulars regarding it, no outline of our
general policy can be formed. I am extremely glad that Mr.
Foster and Mr. Beresford will visit this country. Their com
munications will be of the most essential importance, and even
the appearance will be good. I should wish to induce them to
be here, if they can, by the middle of next month. Perhaps, if
it can be easily so arranged, Beresford's coming a week before
Foster will be of use ; as I should wish to take up the thread
with him first, having already conversed with him on the
subject. But what T shall most particularly wish is that you
should have a fall explanation from them of their ideas first,
that I may have your observations, if possible, at least in general,
before I discuss the subject vnth them. Foster will, I hope, by
this time have communicated the whole of his ideas upon the
1 Sir Edward Newenham.

96 PITT
Navigation Act. That is the capital point, but it is material to
know his sentiments on the rest. Adieu, my dear sir. My
anxiety on the subject depending, and the confidence with which
I write to you, lead me to trouble you beyond all bounds. I
hope you will have felt no material ill effects from the fatigue
under which you wrote, and will find your health equal to the
trial to which your exertions put it.
Believe me, ever faithfully and sincerely yours,
W. Pitt.
P.S. — 1 am in hopes I need not trouble you more on the
solicitations which have been made to me, except about Lord
Mulgrave. He will acquiesce with great good humour if his
request is not granted ; but still I find he has it a good deal at
heart, with a view to regain his rank over peers junior to him
self. Are any who were of that description, and who have
already been made viscounts, on the list now to be earls ?
I will write to the Duke in answer to his in a day or two.
Rt. Hon. Thomas Orde, etc.
Orde, in a very long letter ^ of October 4, 1784,
gives his views as to the Congress and other matters,
and refers to a ' strange idea ' thrown out of electing
Fox as a delegate to attend the Congress, and adds that
the real view of the promoters was to work a separa
tion between the two countries, but the great pretence
was parliamentary reform.
In a letter of October 7, 1784,^ to the Viceroy, Pitt
deals with the question of reform :
' I am aware you may have seen local difficulties, which may
discourage you in this whole subject of reform, and make you
doubt the possibUity of applying our principles to Ireland, but
let me beseech you to recollect that both your character and
mine for consistency are at stake, unless there are unanswerable
' Bolton MSS, ^ Butland Correspondence,

ORDE 97
proofs that the case of Ireland and England is different, and to
recollect also that, however it is our duty to oppose the most
determined spirit and firmness to ill-grounded clamour or factious
pretensions, it is a duty equally indispensable to take care not
to struggle but in a right cause.
In a letter ^ of the same date to Orde he shows how
anxious he was to have this question fairly examined :
Downing Street : October 7, 1784.
My dear Sir, — In reflecting on my way to town on the
subject of the letter which accompanies this, there seems to me
one material circumstance : my wish not to withhold from you any
thought which occurs to me makes me add this short postscript.
I have stated that the propriety or practicability of any plan
of reform must be tried in a great measure by the temper of the
people. I see how great the difficulty of your situation must
be in this respect, because it must have naturally happened
that the persons with whom you have necessarily most habits of
intercourse must be those who are most interested against any
plan of reform — that is to say, those who have the greatest share
of present parliamentary interest.
What I venture to suggest for your consideration is, whether
it be possible for you to gain any authentic knowledge (without
committing yourself) of the extent of the numbers who are
really zealous for reform, or of the ideas that would content
them. By what I hear accidentally, the Protestant reformers
are alarmed at the pretensions of the Catholics, and for that
very reason would stop very short of the extreme speculative
notions of universal suffi'age. Could there be any way of your
confidentially sounding Lord Charlemont vsdthout any danger ?
I am aware that you may have seen local difficulties which.
may discourage you on the whole subject of reform, and make
you doubt the possibility of applying our principles to Ireland,
But let me beseech you to recollect that both your character
and mine for consistency are at stake, unless there are" un-
1 Bolton MSS. This letter is almost verbatim the same as that to
Rutland of same date. See above extract. H

98 PITT
answerable proofs that the case of Ireland and England is
different ; and to recollect also that, however it is our duty to
oppose the most determined spirit and firmness to clamour, or
factious pretensions, it is a duty equally indispensable to take
care not to struggle but in a right cause. Adieu. I will not suffer
myself to trouble you any more at present. Ever yours,
W. Pitt.
The ' Congress ' was held at the end of October
and proved a fiasco. Orde writes ^ to Pitt on Novem
ber 6, 1784 : ' Since the adjournment of Congress, our
business has been to turn it into ridicule . . . Two or
three gj-eat men among them, by too rash a rehance on
the virtue of their privUege of delegates, having ven
tured to take their seats in the Exhibition Eoom, have
been exposed to the rude hand of the bailiff or con
stable. . . . Among such a herd as this, consisting in
aU of but thirty-six persons, Mr. Flood did not disdain
to class himself, when several persons of much inferior
figure were ashamed of attending such an assembly.
... It is thought fit to proceed by attachment, which
the Attorney-General moved for yesterday, against the
Sheriff of the county of Dublin, who was the first who
summoned his Baillywick for the express purpose of
electing delegates. ... In two counties, upon the re
fusal of the Sheriff, some Justices of the Peace chose
to issue summonses for an assembly to choose dele
gates. These are also supposed to be fit subjects for
an attachment, on account of their offence as Magis
trates.' He mentioned that Lord Mansfield had told
Carleton, the Solicitor-General, that his opinion was
decisive with regard to the illegaUty of the Sheriffs'
» Bolton MSS.

ORDE 99
conduct, and to the propriety of proceeding against
them, for example's sake, by way of attachment, and
stated that the only real object of uneasiness at present
was the conduct of the Catholics, and that attempts
were made in the Liberty ^ to collect and driU a body
of them. He adds : ' In this kingdom resistance is
usuaUy made to the execution of any judgments of
the Courts of Law if the persons affected thereby
are either popular characters or so desperate as
to hire a party to maintain possession. In the
county of Tipperary at present there exist some
disagreeable proofs of this revolt against the laws,
and by very bad management of the Magistrates in
those parts a military assistance was rendered ineffec
tual to destroy a smaU garrison of lawless ruffians who
still hold possession of an estate adjudged to another
person.' How inveterate are some habits ! Pitt's letter^
of December 4, 1784, to the Duke of Eutland shows
that the commercial resolutions were getting into shape,
and also that he stiU thought the question of reform
might develop into some feasible project. His words
are strong as to his wishes : ' Parliamentary reform, I
am StiU sure, after considering all you have stated,
must, sooner or later, be carried in hoth countries. If it
is well done, the sooner the better. I wiU write to you,
by as early an opportunity as I can, the full result of
all my reflections on the subject. For God's sake, do
not persuade yourself in the meantime that the measure,
if properly managed, and separated from every ingre
dient of faction (which I believe it may be), is incon-
' Part of old DubUn. ^ Butland Correspondence. H 2

IOO PITT
sistent with either the dignity or the tranquility and
facility of Government. On the contrary, I believe they
ultimately depend upon it. And if such a settlement is
practicable, it is the only system that can be thought of.
I write in great haste, and under a strong impres
sion of these sentiments. You wiU perceive that this
is merely a confidential and personal communication
between you and myself, and therefore I need add no
apology for stating so plainly what is floating in my
mind on these subjects.'
In another ' most private ' letter ^ of January 11,1785,
he addresses the Viceroy on the topics which were
hkely to require attention in Ireland in the approaching
session, and shows that the difficulties in the way of
reform had forced themselves on the attention of his
Government. He says : ' The Cabinet were clearly of
opinion, while the commercial arrangement is in agita
tion, as I found Mr. Orde was, and I have no doubt you
wiU be, that it was advisable at aU events to postpone
discussing the question of reform tiU it has been decided
here ; and in the meantime it is certainly not the busi
ness of Government to pledge itself to anything. It would
be unfair to make the friends of Government beUeve that
any reform is at aU events to be opposed : it would be
unreasonable and imprudent to let them suppose it is at
aU events to be supported, which cannot be decided
tiU the specific proposition, and aU the circumstances
under which it is to be brought forward, are known.
This, therefore, is the main object — to keep Government
from being considered as pledged in the interval, and
' Butland Correspondence

ORDE 101
to avoid, at this particular crisis, any step that would
disgust our friends or loosen their support.'
In this letter Pitt refers to reform as an important
matter to be inquired into, to be borne in mind, but in
respect of which he rather took the position of an op
portunist : it was ' certainly not the business of Govern
ment to pledge itself to anything.' Pitt's letters aU
show that he recognised the difficulties and obstacles in
the way of reform in Ireland, and none of them indicate
that he regarded his commercial pohcy as dependent
upon reform or any other question.
In his letters of January 1785 one can readily
appreciate the reasoning which he thought demanded
and justified the resolutions. In his ' secret ' letter ^ of
January 6, 1785, to the Duke of Eutland, he alluded to
the relations which must subsist between the two
countries — the ' essential point of reciprocity ' — ' that
they should be one in the communication of advantages,
and of course in the participation of burdens ; ' and he
discussed the return ' which reason and justice entitle
us to expect Ireland would make for the great commer
cial advantages she was about to receive.' He uses no
unworthy words : ' In the relation of Great Britain
[with Ireland] there can subsist but two possible prin
ciples of connection. The one, that which is exploded,
of total subordination in Ireland, and of restrictions on
her commerce for the benefit of this country, which
was by this means enabled to bear the whole burden of
the empire ; the other is what is now proposed to be
confirmed and completed, that of an equal participation
' Butland Correspondence.

102 PITT
of aU commercial advantages, and some proportion of
the charge of protecting the general interest. If Ireland
is at aU connected with this country, and to remain a
member of the empire, she must make her option be
tween these two principles, and she has wisely and
justly made it for the latter. But if she does not think
this system for her advantage as weU as ours, and if she
sets any value either on the confirmation and security
of what has been given her, or on the possession of
what is now within her reach, she can attain neither
without performing on her part what both reason and
justice entitle us to expect.'
In a postscript to his letter ^ to Orde of January 19,
Pitt refers to titles, as to which he had frequent requests,
and said he would write soon ' about the marquisates,
etc.,' and that there was no harm in giving strong
hopes, but that positive engagements should be
avoided. The applications for peerages were then
very numerous and needed great prudence and
caution. In another letter'^ of January 28, 1785, to Orde,
Pitt discusses several 'points as yet unsettled,' and
says : ' It seems absolutely necessary that Ireland
should lay the same duties as exist from time to time
in Great Britain on foreign articles exported to the
Colonies ; ' and again : ' It seems understood, according
to the resolutions, that the goods imported from one
country into the other shaU be exported as free from
burden as goods of the produce of the country itself.'
This is the language of a Minister who was taking a
clear and sensible view of a business matter.
> Bolton MSS. ^ Ibid.

ORDE 103
Orde had to introduce the resolutions into the Irish
House of Commons on February 7, and Pitt's letter ^ of
February 1 to Orde is interesting as showing the close
and anxious way in which the question of the contribu
tion from Ireland for Imperial purposes was regarded
by the Cabinet, and the very distinct and positive
instructions that were given to Orde on the subject :
My dear Sir, — -I need trouble you but shortly on the
important subject depending, as after the fullest deliberation
Lord Sydney's despatch contains the result of all our opinions
and sentiments upon it. Tou will there see the utmost latitude
which it is possible for us to give; and even that we could
never have brought ourselves to but in the reliance you will
have recourse to every possible expedient rather than make the
last concessions authorised by it. If you can carry the idea of
appropriating the surplus by Irish authority to the discharge of
our debt, it will be the happiest of all ends to this business ;
and this country, aa well as Ireland, will have to thank you for
ever. I really think, in spite of all the prejudices against paying
our debt, the Irish objections to our proposition in its former
shape give a fair opening for this. It is one of those ideas
which may succeed by being taken with address and vigour at a
lucky moment. It certainly satisfies the Constitutional jealousy
of an Irish Parliament. It is the strongest possible pledge of
affection to the sister kingdom; and it will pay Ireland, as
it will relieve this country by the stability and credit it will
give to our general credit. As to the money going out of the
kingdom, it is, between ourselves, an idle idea.
It may be well to humour the prejudice a little, if it can be
of use (which in case of adopting the other schemes it may).
But the matter is, if Irish money is spent in Irish commodities
for the service of the navy, it will prevent so much English
money coming for that purpose. Disguise it as you will, there
can be no contribution for any purpose but your internal
Government or immediate local benefit ; that is, in other words,
there can be nothing that at all deserves the name of contribution
' Bolton MSS,

104 PITT
which does not either carry money out of the kingdom, or
prevent money coming into it, which is the same thing.
Why should Ireland be afraid of this, especially when the
money will come out of augmented wealth, and will leave her in
a great proportion richer than she is now ? Besides this, she
tells us in the same breath that the sum will be too little to
be an object. But is it supposed that the sending money out
of the country vrill be a grievance peculiar to Ireland ? The
fact is that we cannot provide for any of our foreign services
(which very services are as much for the benefit of Ireland
as our own) without doing the very same thing. The pay, the
victualling our troops, the expense of fortifications in Canada,
in the East and West Indies, at Gibraltar, the whole expense of
our navy while on foreign stations, are all so many drains for
the treasure of this country. But we bear it, and gain by it,
because the intercourse and commerce which this expense
protects brings in, by its retums, more money than it takes
out. Just so it is with Ireland, which is interested in all our
foreign possessions : and just so it must be with any country
which has any concerns, outside of its domestic circle, which it
thinks worth improving or defending.
There is only this difference, which is strongly in favour of
the scheme for a sinking fund — that the money thus sent,
instead of being in fact applied to more remote services, goes
no further than England. And from England it may be carried
back to Ireland, by the channels of a trade of which the
balance (as far as respects the mere interchange of the manu
factures of Great Britain and Ireland) is greatly in favour of the
latter. I really think if I were an Irish patriot who was forced
to acknowledge the necessity of some contribution I should be
happy to embrace this, for the sake both of policy and dignity.
Let me conjure you, if you see a chance, to press it to the
utmost ; and not to be discouraged by the trite objection that
the debt is not of their contracting. Ireland must directly and
indirectly assist in discharging it, if she contribute to the general
expense at all.
If this idea cannot be carried, the only other which is
tolerably satisfactory is that contained in Paper No. 1, enclosed
by Lord Sydney. Beyond that, surely you cannot be driven to

ORDE 105
concede. If you encounter further difficulties, pray let me know
precisely from vhom and the particular parliam^entary interests
on which you cannot depend if you push the business. With the
turn things have now taken, you cannot be afraid of the conse
quences, at least of this proposition, without doors.
If (which God forbid) everything else fails, we must have
recourse to the last expedient. No. 3, which is just better than
nothing, because with it we may venture to bring forward here
the commercial arrangement, and with less than this we
certainly could not stir a step. I have only to add a word as to
the general arguments against contribution now in the shape
proposed. They amount only, I think, to this, that people
choose to call it only a tribute and a bargain. Perhaps it is
answer enough to say that it cannot be both. In truth, a bargain —
that is a compact for mutual advantage — is the strongest instance
of independent authority, and, as such, Ireland cannot quarrel
with it. And the nature of the bargain is this : — Tou bargain
to pjay a small share in the general defence. We bargain to give
you a complete share in the general advantage. As to the word
tribute, it seems to me that a sum given voluntarily by one country
in consequence of a compact formed by mutual consent with
another, given for purposes, too, in which it is itself interested,
and with the power of seeing that it is thus applied, has every
thing to distinguish it from a tribute which can separate one
idea from the other.
I must not forget to add that the resolution you sent me for
confining the Irish consumption to our colonies seems clearly
right. The substance of it is indeed indispensable, and in all
our conversations we understood that there was no difference of
opinion about the thing ; though until your letter on the subject
I was not precisely aware of the steps necessary to secure it. I
trust you will at all events insist upon it. Tou will receive
from Lord Sydney the resolution on the subject of mutual pre
ference over other European countries. The subject is so
complex that we cannot hazard the resolution as tight as it was
first drawn, but it may be of use to declare the principle in
this general way. I send by this messenger a letter written
some days ago in answer to your Memo, and I return your reso
lution with one or two marginal notes. Tou will consider what

106 PITT
is suggested with regard to the drawbacks on manufactures re
exported, and with regard to bounties from societies, both of
which may be material. I think that the resolutions as they now
stand say nothing expressly about the duties on colonial produce
imported into Ireland. When the colony trade was opened, it
was understood that your duties should be precisely the same. I
am not sure whether, particularly with regard to sugar, Ireland
has not proceeded on a calculation to make the price in both
countries, instead of having precisely the same dm,ty ; which last
I take it was certainly intended. The same thing ought to be
extended to rum, etc., and I fiatter myself you will have no
difficulty in making this point clear. I have been much con
cerned that your messenger has necessarily been so long detained.
I fear it will now not be possible that you should propose your
resolutions before Monday next. Tou will undoubtedly take
care to open those for the contribution with the others, and to
pass them at the same time, which seems indispensable. We
shall wait impatiently and anxiously the event.
I am, dear sir,
Most faithfully and sincerely yours,
W. Pitt.
Downing Street : Peb. 1, 1785.
I have been obliged to write to the Duke on the subject
of Gardiner and Stewart's peerages,' on which the circum
stances make me very anxious.
Orde submitted the first form of the resolutions to
the Irish Parhament on February 7, 1785. They per
mitted the importation without any increased duty of
all produce from other countries through Ireland into
Great Britain, and into Ireland through Great Britain ;
they reduced the duty on the manufactures and produce
of both countries to the scale of whichever country had
the lowest duties ; and they provided a contribution
from Ireland for Imperial purposes.
^ Gardiner obtained the title of Viscoxmt Mountjoy, and was father
of the Earl of Blessington. Stewart was created Baron Londonderry
m 1789, and subsequently Viscount, Earl and Marquis of Londonderry.

ORDE 107

Orde wrote to Pitt on the 7th, the day of his speech,
and received a reply ^ from him dated February II :

Downing Street : Feb. 11, 1785.
My dear Sir, — I trust, from your letter of the 7th, which I
received only this morning, that the substance of your proposi
tions, though not altogether what we wished, will be certainly
carried in a shape tolerably satisfactory. The objections hitherto
made seem only to have given you an opportunity of stating
more fully the advantageous ground on which you put them. I
wait with impatience the further result. We shall not open the
business here till we leam that the resolutions have been agreed
to in your House of Commons. In the meantime, there are
two points on which I wish to mention to you what occurs to me,
in the hope that it may possibly not be too late. I think it seems
clearly desirable that the resolutions should be communicated
at a conference, or whatever other mode seems the most regular,
to the House of Lords. Probably you will have decided on this
step before this letter can reach you, which will be Monday
night or Tuesday morning. If not, unless you see any reason
to the contrary, I should wish that step to be taken as soon after
as you conveniently can. It is the mode we must pursue here,
and it seems best it should be similar on both sides of the water.
There is another point, of much more consequence, on which
I am afraid of some mistake. The account of the produce of the
hereditary revenue to March 25 last (enclosed in your letter)
makes the total of that revenue 659,000Z. But an account that
Foster left here (made up to the same period, on which our former
calculations were founded) made it but 554, OOOL The difference
appears to arise from a different proportion of the produce on
wines, tobacco, and sugar being carried to the additional duties.
.... I trust before this letter reaches you your success will have
proved as complete as the most favourable expectations could
state it. A contribution (though I will not use the word) which
leaves the appropriation from time to time to the Irish Parlia
ment is certainly (as I before stated it) so much better than
nothing that it will be well worth having.
^ Bolton MSS.

108 PITT
I congratulate you that Brownlow could only speak Daggers,
and that even those seemed somewhat blunted. W. Pitt.
Notwithstanding all the directions of Pitt, Orde,
under the exigencies of debate in the Irish House of
Commons, made concessions beyond the contemplation
and wishes of the Cabinet. The idea of the Govern
ment was that the contribution should each year be the
surplus of the hereditary revenue, which, after much
examination and some changes, was fixed at a certain
sum. This would secure, if the surplus revenue was
kept up and duly levied, a fixed contribution annuaUy
from Ireland. Objections were taken in the Irish
House of Commons to this form of resolution, and
the contribution in time of peace was made contingent
upon the establishment of a balance between revenues
and expenditure.
Pitt wrote to Orde ^ on February 24, pointing out
that the change made the surplus, and therefore any
contribution, precarious : Downing Street: February 24, 1785.
My dear Sir, — The long dispatch which the Duke will
receive from Lord Sydney will inform you fully of our proceed
ings and our opinions, and makes it totally unnecessary for me
to enter into any further detail. I am unwilling to detain the
messenger a moment. I only wish to repeat that we are ready
to admit the resolutions were made on the idea of a pressing
necessity, and of the supposition of their being conducive to the
general object. I must, however, confess that I wish any conse
quence had been risked rather than such a concession.
It is and will be considered here as rendering the whole
effect of the surplus precarious. Everything, therefore, depends
upon having the difficulty removed.
1 Bolton MSS.

ORDE 109
Tou will, I am sure, spare no exertion, and I trust it may be
happily accomplished. If this is adjusted, I think, notwith
standing every act of opposition, we can answer for the rest ;
but withont it we cannot stir a step beyond the conditional
approbation given in the resolution, of which you have a copy in
Lord Sydney's dispatch. I rejoice to find that if this essential
point is well settled you have so good a prospect of success in
other matters. Tou shall hear from me upon all of them
speedily ; this, however, is more important than them all, and on
this our opinions, as stated in the dispatch, are unalterable.
Rose has written to you on two or three points on which we
very much wish explanation.
W. Pitt.
Eose,^ the Secretary to the Treasury, who was in
daily communication with Pitt on the subject, and
knew all that was going on in London, wrote ^ on the
same day to Orde his views of the position :
I have never felt a greater impatience in my life to write than
during these three or four days past, but I found it impossible
to communicate with you, and much less with anyone else on
your side of the water, on the subject of the interesting business
now depending, till Mr. Pitt should write himself to the Duke
and you. I have been the more uneasy because it is impossible
to doubt of the anxiety you must have been in all the time. The
admission of the alteration in the last resolution, which you
found yourself compelled to, struck everyone here immediately
as leaving the matter short of the intention of securing the
eventual surplus of the hereditary revenue. Mr. Pitt is most
^ The Right Hon. George Bose, M.P., appointed Secretary of the
Treasury, 1782, under Lord Shelburne ; and again in 1783, under Pitt,
and so remained until 1801. Vice-President of Board of Trade and
joint Paymaster- General, 1804-6; again Vice-President of Board of
Trade, and Vice-Treasurer of Navy, 1807-18 ; Clerk of ParUament, 1788.
An intimate friend of Pitt, and contributed 1,000Z. to the private fund
got up to pay his debts on his resignation ; the grandfather of Sir WiUiam
Rose, late Clerk of ParUament, and Sir Hugh Eose, Lord Strathnairn ;
died 1818.
^ Bolton MSS.

110 PITT
thoroughly satisfied that in giving way you acted for the best,
and with the purest intentions of concluding the business in a
manner the least likely upon the whole to be attended with ill-
effects ; but, convinced as he is of the absolute necessity of adher
ing to his former determination, and compelled to attend to the
opinion of the others, he finds it impossible to propose the
several resolutions agreed upon till the tenth is restored to its
original meaning, either in form or substance. This he persuades
himself will yet not be difficult to effect. Ireland has it always
in her own power to keep up her revenue to her expenses, and it
is surely unreasonable she should make that a condition of any
assistance she means to give to the support of the general
strength of the empire. As Mr. Pitt lays some stress upon
that, Mr. Fox chose to take the ground of saying that he had
not the least doubt of Ireland religiously keeping her faith iu
that respect, but he was sure she would equalise her revenue at
least to her expenses, but that he was equally sure there was
the utmost danger where Mr. Pitt apprehended none, in the
execution of the laws for securing the commerce and navigation
of this country, which must in future depend upon the revenue
officers in Ireland, who would be encouraged publicly to relax in
all the necessary regulations, and to admit foreign produce of
the West India colonies into Ireland, which would again be
shipped for this country. When Mr. Pitt urged that the
danger of Ireland becoming the emporium of trade was greatly
magnified, Mr. Fox referred to your speech in the Irish House,
and said Mr. Pitt's was an answer to it, but that you had the
best of the argument.
There must have been the suspicion of a smUe on
' the fine Atlantic of his countenance ' when Fox
twitted Pitt with not being equal in argument to his
own Chief Secretary !
Pitt's time was fuUy occupied for the next two
months in passing the resolutions, with amendments
and changes, through the ordeal of debate in the Eng
lish House of Commons, and facing an Opposition

ORDE III
which spared no effort in England and Ireland to defeat
his policy and upset his scheme.
Orde aU this time was at his post, working at Dublin
Castle and in Parliament to aid the Duke of Eutland in
the general administration of Ireland. It wiU be
noticed that in Pitt's letters he continuaUy asked Orde
to furnish him with the particulars of the parliamentary
interests in Ireland.
Orde appears to have made a study of the question.
He kept a pocket-book (presumably, from its appear
ance, for daily and constant use) with the names of the
members of the Irish House of Commons on separate
pages, in alphabetical order, and in it were entered
aU particulars ' as to their wishes, ambitions, hopes,
fears, and also the names of those through whom they
could be influenced.
He had a list endorsed ' A curious paper showing
the price of every Irish M.P.,' but a perusal of the con
tents does not support the coarse candour of the
description. Opposite each name there are words or
references that might be useful hints. Thus, after the
name of Vesey Colclough is written, ' see him ' ; after
Corry, ' place — too high ' ; after Cuff, ' various — has good
place ' ; after Et. Hon. Daly, ' see him — unaccountable ' ;
after Sir B. Denny, ' peerage, but now cannot be ' ; after
Archdale, ' rank, &c. ' ; after, Blakeney ' has pension ' ;
after Brooke, ' not to be depended on ' ; after Hon. D.
Browne, ' patriotic'
There is another of Orde's papers headed ' Abstract
divisional view of the House of Commons of Ireland,'
' Massey's History of England, ui. 264.

112 PITT
which accounted for the 300 members under the fol
lowing headings : ' Leading interests for, 86 ; brought
in by Government, 12 ; in place, &c., 44 ; expectant
and independent, 44 ; hopeful, 9 ; doubtful, 20 ; lead
ing interests against, 30 ; against, 52; vacant seats, 2;
Mr. Pelham, 1.' After the majority of the particular
names of the members there is generally a word in red
ink, such as ' expectant,' ' pension,' ' office,' ' soUcits,'
' obliged,' ' peerage,' ' occasional favours,' ' caprice,'
' weU disposed,' ' occasionally favourable,' ' popular,'
' very extravagant,' ' popular interest.' Grattan is
classed with the ' doubtful ' and Henry Flood as
' against,' but there is an honourable blank opposite
both names. Lord Shannon has 16 members under
the 'leading interests for,' and Mr. Ponsonby 14
with the same heading ; while in the ' leading interests
against' appear the names of the Duke of Leinster
with 7 members, and Lord Charlemont with 2. Lord
Edward Fitzgerald's name is included in the Duke of
Leinster's list, but (as might be expected) no words
follow it.
Orde never spared himself in writing letters. He
wrote day after day to London during the proceedings
on the commercial resolutions, and on one day, July 28,
1785, he wrote two letters to Eose, and two also to
Beresford, on the subject. Although generaUy a for
mal writer, he wrote freely to them. Thus, in writing
to Beresford, he aUudes to the Irish ' Maladie du pays,'
' the rage of circulating a secret ' ; he teUs Eose ' we
shaU blow our enemies to the Devil.' He could show
clearly and weU how pride, and not substance, was
wrecking the commercial resolutions. He says in his

ORDE 113
letter ^ of July 19, 1785, to Beresford, ' One word of
gratification to the independent pride of the country
would do more than concessions of commercial benefit : '
and in a letter to him ^ on the 28th of the same month,
he says : ' It is grievous to be defeated because of a
contest of mere punctilio. It is too provoking to find
resistance to a phantom, when it is clearly demonstrated
that it has no power to harm.' The foUowing sentence
in a letter Orde wrote to Pitt on February 17, 1787,
has almost too modern a look to have been written
over a century : ' People in the South direct their
menaces against increase of rents or change of tenants,
and they entirely prevent the punishment of their crimes
by deterring persons from giving evidence.'
Orde had a rare gift of writing letters of courteous
and charming evasion, postponement, ambiguity, hesita
tion and regret to applicants for place or preferment.
He never gave an unqualified negative : he always hinted
at the ' pleasures of hope,' which are so easily nurtured
by the ' pleasures of the imagination.'
The foUowing ^ shows how the most private circum
stances of the Chief Secretary's family were made an
opportunity for appealing to his influence :
Dublin Castle : February 3, 1786.
Sir, — I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter,
and to thank you at the same time for your very polite con
gratulations on the late increase of my family. I can scarcely
entertain a doubt that the Lord-Lieutenant, who was aware of
your preference of an active life to the ennui of retirement,
would be glad of an occasion to commute your pension for
office. No opportunity has as yet presented itself for that pur-
' Bolton MSS. ' Ibid. » Ibid. I

114 PITT
pose : I shall be glad to find that at any other time it may be
in his Grace's power to gratify you more according to your
inclinations. Tours, &c.,
Mons. de Raveney. T. Orde.
Orde knew how to meet ambiguities that might mean
threats in application for favours. He wrote to a
member who put forth his pretensions : ' I hope I am
mistaken in apprehending from the style in which you
conclude your letter any declaration of doubt of the
support of His Majesty's Government, because I am
confident that my Lord-Lieutenant is totally unable, as
well as unwilUng, to hold out any expectations to a
gentleman whose resolution in that respect is uncertain.
His Grace's Government does not find itself under the
necessity of conciliating support upon such terms or
under such impressions. I shaU be glad to have the
honour of receiving your answer, that I may communi
cate it to His Grace.'
The Viceroy himself did not escape many direct
apphcations for his patronage. Some are curious, and
suggest more audacity than power of service. A Mr.
O'Byrne wrote ^ to him : ' Although we differ a Uttle in
politics, give me leave to introduce my friend, Mr.
Doyle. He has, however, the misfortune of differing
with you, as I do, in a few trifling particulars, which I
fear will prevent him taking a pubhc decided part with
you. . . . Stick to Doyle. A word to the wise.'
It is interesting to find amongst the correspondence
ofthe Duke of Eutland a letter ^ from Lord Mornington
> Hist. MSS. Com., Butland Correspondence, iu. 76.
^ Ibid. iii. 266. There is also an interesting letter from Arthur
WeUesley to Lord Mornington on June 17, 1793, saying that he under-

ORDE 115
about the future Duke of WeUington : ' Let me remind
you of a younger brother of mine, whom you were so
kind as to take into your consideration for a commission
in the army. He is here at this moment, and perfectly
idle. It is a matter of indifference to me what com
mission he gets, provided he gets it soon.'
Orde offered to resign several times, owing to the
state of his health, but was induced to stay on at the
request of Pitt and the Duke of Eutland. He was, how
ever, about to retire when the too early death of the
Viceroy occurred. Freedom from worry and work to
some extent restored his health. He subsequently took
an interest in county affairs, became Lord-Lieutenant of
Hampshire ^ after his elevation to the Peerage, assumed
the name of Orde-Powlett on his wife's succeeding to the
Bolton property, and terminated a useful and respected
life in the year 1807.
stood the Government intended to form a corps to send abroad, under
the command of officers taken from the different regiments, and that he
would Uke to go with them : ' The way in which you can assist me ,is
fco ask Mr. Pitt to desire Lord Westmorland to send me as major to one
of the flank corps. If they are to go abroad, they wUl be obUged to take
the officers from the line, and they may as weU take me as anybody else ;
but if you think that it would be improper to apply to Mr. Pitt upon this
occasion, I vnU refer it to Lord Westmorland myself. I think it both
dangerous and improper to remove any part of the army from this
country at present, but if any part of it is to be moved I should like to
go with it, and have no chance of seeing service except with the flank
corps, as the regiment I have got into as major is the last for service.
' BeUeve me, my dear Mornington,
' Yours most affectionately, 'A. Wellesley.'
' Before he was appointed to that high office, it would appear that
the curious course had been taken of putting it in commission. It is
stated in the CarUsle Papers that in 1793 ' the Lieutenancy of Hants was
taken from the possessor on account of some manoeuvres about the MiUtia,
but the intention is to preserve it in his family, and with that view it
is to be put in commission ' (Hist. MSS. Com., 15 Rep. Ap., Part 6).
I 2

116 PITT

CHAPTEE IV
pitt's coskespondence on the commeecial resolutions
Pitt to Rutland — Lord Sydney's ofBcial despatch — Cooke — Resolutions in
the EngUsh Parliament — Pitt had at same time to remember effect
in Ireland of any changes made — Examination of witnesses at the
Bar — Pitt anxious that his ground should be good — Necessity for
perpetuating the laws of coUecting — Parliamentary reform — Remodel
ling and enlargement of resolutions — Orde ' terrified ' at changes —
Pitt resolute — Fox's speeches — Identical laws for trade and navigation
— and for coUection of hereditary revenue — Mr. Gladstone and our
trade circle — His approval of Pitt — Pitt's letters to Orde and Butland
— Beresford's account of debate in House of Lords — Sheridan —
Beresford suspected Pitt's coUeagues — Orde's admiration of Pitt —
Bnt objected to resolutions coming back to Ireland — Pitt would not
' fritter down ' — Eose — Pitt would not yield — Eesult — Grattan's
speech — Curran's — Practical defeat — Dublin Uluminated — Letters to
Pitt — Cooke — Flood — Argument for Union — Fox and Burke fac
tions — Mr. Morley's judgment.
The foUowing letter ^ to the Duke of Eutland is a fine
specimen of flattery, encouragement and persuasion :
Downing Street : Thursday, March 3, 1785.
My dear Duke, — I write to you with a degree of satisfaction
which I cannot express, in anticipating (I trust not prematurely)
the happy conclusion of your labours in the important work
now depending. I feel at the same time that much is still left
for address and exertion ; but I am confident they will be fully
adequate to the task, and I really think there is nothing now
remains that ought to be an obstacle between the two countries.
' Bolton MSS. The Butland Correspondence shows the prodigious
industry of Pitt in often writing on the same subjects, on the same day, to
the Viceroy and to the Chief Secretary.

y^^M,.fr/^»^ Mcr^^fin^r/

CORBESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 117
Tou will see by Lord Sydney's despatch and the drafts enclosed
that we have endeavoured to put the business into such a train
as may preserve the main and indispensable object, and at the
same time accommodate it to the principles already adopted
and declared in Ireland. On the commercial points (be the
opposition what it may, and I think it will be less than was
threatened) we shall give you full and complete satisfaction.
On the subject of contribution, we ask no more in substance
than what, according to your construction of the Irish resolu
tions, you have given us already. What we ask, however, is
indispensable to satisfy ourselves and to satisfy this country ;
and, obtaining this, we are ready to seal the compact without
delay. The principle of intemal economy which you found it
necessary to couple with this settlement, we not only do not
reject, but approve and commend it. We only state that to
enforce this economy is the separate province and duty of the
Irish Parliament, not ours. The Parliament of this country,
who are the parties to this bargain, can have no power to
control your intemal expenses. The bargain ought, therefore,
not to be made subject to a contingency on which no exertions
of our Parliament can have any effect. On the contrary, the
Parliament of Ireland, who have annually the power of giving
or refusing the additional duties, and will be secured in the
more effectual exercise of this great Constitutional privilege by
this very arrangement, have the means of examining and
checking every article of the public expense. It is surely
degrading and humiliating to the Parliament of Ireland to
suppose that they must have recourse to any other aid for this
purpose, and to make them acknowledge themselves unequal to
the peculiar and characteristic functions of the representatives
of a free kingdom.
In short, I am really persuaded, if I can trust my own
feelings on this subject, that every able and disinterested friend
to the dignity and interest of Ireland — such a man, for instance,
as Mr. Grattan — will, upon reflection, see every object he can
have at heart better consulted on this plan than according to
the Irish resolutions themselves. The principles of economy
may still be held sacred, but the care of them will be committed

118 PITT
to their natural guardians, the Irish Parliament. All the
objects of commercial equality will be attained, and the whole
arrangement will be established on the best of all securities, the
mutual satisfaction of both countries. With such a prospect as
this before them, surely the disinterested and rational part of
Ireland cannot hesitate to close on the terms now suggested.
It is true that these terms are in the mode of them different
from those originally voted in the Irish Parliament, but can
that be a ground for rejecting them, and introducing a fresh
scene of confusion? Let Ireland recollect the nature of this
whole proceeding. It is, in fact, a sort of treaty between two
independent kingdoms, to be confirmed in the Parliament of
each. The basis of this treaty is first proposed to the Irish
Pa/rlia/ment. In all that relates to the commercial arrange
ments this proposal is agreed to without variation ; in one pa/rt
only (and that point, the consideration to be given by Ireland
in return) an alteration is desired by Great Britain, which in
substance requires nothing additional from Ireland, but which
in point of security is everything to us. With this one alteration
agreed to, everything else is secured in the very shape Ireland
proposes it.
Under these circumstances, can any man living venture to
maintain that it is inconsistent with the dignity or even the
pride of Ireland to meet our wishes on such fair and liberal
ground ? I really cannot suffer myself to entertain a doubt on
the subject. I therefore conclude in full confidence that your
efforts will be successful in a cause in which your own reputa
tion, and that of all our friends here, is not more involved than
the interest of every man who has a concern in the strength
and welfare of the whole empire. Adieu, &c.,
W. Pitt.
His letter ^ of the same date to Orde also shows the
importance that Pitt attached to the subject.
The foUowing is the official despatch^ of Lord
• Bolton MSS. ¦' Ibid.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 119
Sydney, written on the same day, referred to in each of
Pitt's letters. The style is rather stilted and high-flown,
having regard to present ideas, and it is difficult to
conceive one department of Government writing to
another nowadays in such language of compliment :
WhitehaU : March 3, 1785.
My Lord, — By Mr. Cooke, who arrived here on Tuesday
last, I was favoured with your Grace's despatch of the 25th of
last month.
I have the pleasure to acquaint your Grace that, though it
was utterly impossible for His Majesty's Ministers to accede to the
alterations made in the resolutions, they are perfectly satisfied
that the principles upon which your Grace admitted them were
the same which have so honourably carried you through the
many important transactions of your administration.
Tour Grace will be pleased to understand that it never was
the wish of the King's servants to interfere with the economical
arrangements of the Parliament of Ireland, but that we felt
ourselves bound to show to the Parliament and people of Great
Britain that every possible security was given to the perma
nency of the contribution for the support of the general
interests of the empire. . . . This important object once com
pletely obtained, must place your Grace's administration of the
Kingdom of Ireland certainly amongst the most fortunate as
well as meritorious that ever has existed, and ensure to your
Grace the credit and satisfaction which deservedly belong to
you, who will have confirmed the permanent happiness and
prosperity of both kingdoms.
Sydney.
Mr. Cooke,^ referred to in this letter, was then
employed in the Chief Secretary's office, and his name
appears frequently in the pubhc Ufe of the next thirty
years.
1 Edward Cooke, son of the Provost of King's CoUege, Cambridge,
was placed by Eden in the Chief Secretary's office ; 1789, succeeded C
F. Sheridan as Under Secretary, War Department ; 1795, removed by

120 PITT
Pitt, in the midst of all his toil working the commer
cial resolutions through the Enghsh House of Commons,
had always to keep steadily in view that the opinions
of the Irish Parliament had to be borne in mind and
the difficulties of the Irish Executive remembered. The
resolutions were to lead up to BiUs which should be
passed in each Parliament. The Viceroy and Chief
Secretary, during the struggle at Westminster, were
naturally thinking how what was said and done there
would affect the success of the measure which must be
founded on the ultimate shape of the resolutions, and
which it would be Orde's duty to present to the Irish
House of Commons.
Pitt's letters show the pains he took to keep his
Irish colleagues informed of the true bearing of what
was occurring, and, if possible, to carry them with him
in his action : ^ Putney Heath : Monday, AprU 4, 1785.
My dear Duke, — . . . The delay occasioned by examina
tions ^ at the bar is vexatious, but any premature attempt to
Lord FitzwiUiam, but reinstated by Lord Camden on his arrival ; 1796,
succeeded Mr. HamUton as Under Secretary, CivU Department; acted
imder Lord Castlereagh during the Irish rebeUion and during the Union
debates; appointed Under Secretary of War and Colonies of England
when Lord Camden became Secretary of State ; 1806, removed dnring
the administration of ' The Talents ' ; 1807, reinstated under Lord
Castlereagh ; retired in 1817, and died 1819. He wrote the pamphlet
in favoin: of the Union to which Bushe (afterwards Chief Justice)
repUed by one entitled Cease your Funning. The portion of Cooke's
pamphlet about revenue and finance was by Beresford, and was so
highly thought of by the Government that it was separately circulated,
Cooke's work, as a whole, not being much approved of. (See Beresford
Correspondence, U.)
^ Bolton MSS.
' The examination of witnesses at the Bar in Committee of the whole
House was the procedure then adopted. If the practice ever prevaUed
to any extent, it would now appear to have faUen into desuetude.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 121
shorten it might have the contrary effect, and the more the sub
ject is discussed the more our cause will be benefited in the end.
Mr. Orde is in possession of the only two alterations, or rather
explanations, of any consequence which have hitherto appeared
necessary in the commercial resolutions. They are of conse
quence here, and cannot be fairly objected to in Ireland. We
may possibly find some further explanation necessary as to other
points in them, and little inaccuracies may be discovered, but
you may be assured that nothing will tempt me to abandon in
any respect the principle and spirit of the resolutions. There
are melancholy prophets here (as is always the case) who are
not without their fears, but I do not myself entertain a doubt of
complete success. Ever, &c.,
W. Pitt.
The next letter^ shows that Pitt looked more to
the country's gain than to any loss of popularity,
and how keenly he desired that his ground should be
' good ' :
Downing Street : AprU 16, 1785.
My dear Duke, — I do not persecute you with long letters, as
the answers I have written to Orde, I take for granted, come to
you, and I therefore save you the trouble of repetition-; but I
cannot let this messenger go without saying in a few words to
yourself how happy I am in thinking, notwithstanding temporary
difficulties and delays, that we are in truth within sight of our
great object. The clamours on this side will gradually sink
from patience and perseverance. Our strength in Parliament,
if we are enabled, as I trust we shall be, to fight on good
grounds and on consistent principles throughout, will not, I
believe, be materially affected by the objections propagated
without doors. And though we may lose a little in popularity
for the time, I am sure we shall ultimately gain — at least the
country will, which is enough.
To this prospect it is essential, however, that our ground
should, as I have said, be good. I am sure every assistance and
' Bolton MSS,

122 PITT
exertion that can be used towards making it so we shall have
from you. I know that you have on your side difficulties and
prejudices and follies to encounter — on many occasions more
than we have, but in this particular business you are surely
further advanced, and have less to struggle with. Tou may
perhaps be able to smooth our difficulties without much increas
ing your own. Of all the points nO# in question, the most
essential is the perpetuating the laws for the collection of the
hereditary revenue. No real objection is, I think, stated to it,
and we really feel it indispensable. For God's sake, let people
feel how necessary it is for the consistency of the plan, and do
not let it be supposed possible that Ireland will refuse to us a
demand so innocent and so reasonable. Adieu.
Ever yours, &c.,
W. Pitt.
In a letter^ to Orde of the same date, he again
presses the necessity for perpetuating the laws of col
lecting : ' It is really, in point of principle and argu
ment, indispensable ; nor can I feel that there is any
tenable ground against it. It is not very important
whether it is secured by a clause in the Appropriation
Act or a separate BiU, but I think the first way much
the best, and I should imagine it would give you the
least trouble. We are going on here tediously, but we
every day gain ground towards the main object ; and
the enemy begin to be a httle tired, though not yet
ashamed of the delay.'
Lord Sydney, writing to the Viceroy a ' Secret and
Separate ' letter ^ the day before, says : ' I cannot help
being of opinion that our Irish friends are unreason
ably tenacious. It seems to be quite forgotten that we
have a jealous country and an active Opposition to
1 Bolton MSS. « Ibid.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 123
deal with — the former hurt at the idea of concessions
to be repeatedly made at the expense of England ; the
other, actuated by revenge and avarice, ready to pro
pagate every opinion that may tend to inflame the
minds of the people and to take advantage of every
local prejudice.'
In another ' Secret and Separate ' letter ^ of the
same date (April 15, 1785) to Orde, Lord Sydney guards
himself from any misconception on the subject of
parUamentary reform : ' In one of my official letters
there dropped from me a couple of untoward epithets
appUed to parliamentary reform. They were the
produce of my own mind, and certainly were not official
expressions. One of the Cabinet hinted to me after
wards, but in perfect good humour, that in an official
letter they might seem to convey the sentiments of the
Cabinet on a subject on which I was not commissioned
to write. The remark was fair.' The member of
the Cabinet who made the objection was right, but
the only definite meaning to be extracted from the
oracular words of ' Tommy Townshend ' is that the
Cabinet did not wish then to commit themselves on the
subject. Pitt deemed it right to present the resolutions in an
enlarged and remodelled form to the House of Commons
on May 12, 1785, with a view to meeting objections
taken in debate, and to insert amendments suggested in
the discussions.
Orde, when he first saw them, thought that they
would not be at aU acceptable to Irish feeling, and that
1 Bolton MSS.

124 PITT
his task in the Irish House of Commons would be
rendered more difficult. He appears to have written ^
his impressions at once to his friend Eose on May 22,
1785, and expressed himself strongly against the per
manent provision for the coUection of the hereditary
revenue. He says : ' I am struck dead at the sight of
it. But, for God's sake, what is meant by it ? What
are the permanent provisions which you expect to be
made for securing the due coUection? If you mean
the establishment of the regulations for the purpose
which have been found necessary since the Acts of
Customs and Excise, we may possibly be able to satisfy
you on that head ; but if you intend to caU upon us to
enact perpetuaUy the Penal Statutes, founded chiefly
upon the plan of summary proceedings under the
Excise laws without a jury, and inflicting most severe
pains and penalties, even to death, I repeat it again that
nothing shaU prevail upon any man here to be seen in
support of it. I should have the honour of standing
alone in making the proposition. It would not be
seconded. ... If this accursed notion of a permanent
Eevenue BiU had not been brought forward, we might
have done weU upon all the material points of your
alterations, so far as it can be supposed that you reaUy
intended to carry them.'
Orde, in a letter the day foUowing (May 23) to Pitt,
expressed himself with much more moderation and
cheerfulness. He said : ' The great rage is, I find,
occasioned chiefly by the fourth and eighteenth (re-
I Bolton MSS. Eutland had written to Pitt on the 19th on the subject.
See Butland Correspondence, 100.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 125
solutions),^ which seem to give to Great Britain the
power of making laws for Ireland and to threaten the
introduction of a perpetual Eevenue BiU, either of
which would create a most serious ferment in the nation.
I am happy, however, to be able to qualify this account
by assuring you that Beresford and Foster are good
men and true (though both convinced of the impossi
biUty of success in the eighteenth resolution if the per
manent provisions are meant to extend to the perpetu
ating all the Penal Statutes now in force for the coUection
of the hereditary duties). . . . We shall not be dis
comforted by moderate difficulties, but we are aU
terrified at the permanent provisions.'
The foUowing letter,^ marked ' Secret,' of Pitt to
Orde is a most powerful and vigorous exposure of the
tactics of the Opposition in seeking to represent ' the
independence of the Irish Legislature as infringed ' by
the resolution. It is indignant and resolute. He puts
aside Orde's difficulties without a particle of hesitation,
and almost loses patience with the objections made from
> The fourth resolution was as foUows : ' That it is highly important
to the general interests of the British Empire that the laws for regulating
trade and navigation should be the same in Great Britain and Ireland ;
and therefore that it is essential towards carrying into effect the present
settlement that all laws which have been made or shaU be made in
Great Britain for securing exclusive privUeges to the ships and mariners
of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Colonies, and for regulating
and restraining the trade of [the British Colonies, such laws, imposing
the same restraints and conferring the same benefits on the subjects of
both kingdoms, should be in force in Ireland by laws to be passed by
the Parliament, for the same time and in the same manner as in Great
Britain.' AU the resolutions are set out fuUy in Plowden's Irelamd, n.
120 ; but the words of the fourth sufficiently show the grounds of the
criticism applied.
2 Bolton MSS,

126 PITT
Ireland as to forms, when the substance of the advan
tages was vital and the fact and extent of the contribu
tion had been agreed upon :
[Secret] 24th May, 1785.
My dear Sir, — I am impatient to apprise you of what passed
yesterday in the House of Commons, because it is plain from
the whole conduct of the Opposition that nothing will be omitted
on their part by misrepresentation and artifice to raise a jealousy
and discontent in the Parliament, and still more, if they find it
possible, in the people of Ireland, on the subject of a system
which promises too much advantage to the whole Empire, if
happily concluded, not to excite their utmost efforts to defeat it.
The attempt now is to represent the Constitutional independence
of the Irish Legislature as infringed by the proposed stipulation
on their part to adopt by their own authority in Irelamd from time
to time such laws as may be made in Eriglamd for securing the
British navigation and regulating the colony trade. I trust that
those who have been for months fomenting an opposition in this
country to deprive Ireland of solid commercial advantages will
not be heard with much credit and partiality in Ireland. After
having been disappointed in their manceuvres here, they now
attempt to make Ireland the dupe of their faction, and endeavour
to prevent the completion of the arrangement by instilling
groundless jealousies on Constitutional points which it in no
shape affects. The opposition will not appear much the more
respectable for having been led on by Lord Beauchamp. The
ground they took was to represent the fourth proposition as
stipulating a right in us to legislate for Ireland, though it was
plain in the original tenor of the propositions, and made still
more so by an amendment which we adopted to meet Mr.
Foster's suggestion, that no law would be in force in Ireland but
by the authority of the Irish Parliament, and that it was in
fact only a voluntary compact by which that Parliament itself
fixed the mode of exercising its own authority with a view to a
particular object, and that in other parts of the compact the
Parliament of this country just as much relinquishes its inde-

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 127
pendent authority by even so regulating and restraining the
trade of our own colonies as to exclude Ireland from a full and
absolute participation with ourselves.
The amendment moved by Lord Beauchamp was to leave out
all the words in the fourth proposition (as it is standing in our
printed copy), beginning with ' and that it is therefore essential^ to
the end of it, and then to proceed immediately to that part of
the fifth proposition which begins : ' That all goods and commo
dities,' &c. This amendment, as we argued, did not even attain
its pretended object, as it still necessarily left Ireland to adapt
her duties from time to time on colony produce to the state of
ours. It was, however, supported by the most inflammatory
language, and the most insulting to the Irish Parliament. Mr.
Sheridan stated in express terms that ' he should think it unfor
tunate if the Irish Parliament dared to pass those propositions ' ;
that there had been appeals from the Parliament to the people.
' II was not by the Pa/rlia/ment that the independence of Ireland had
been obtained, and it was not by them that it should be given up.'
Mr. Fox ' argued in the same strain, but on its being stated to
him that what was now stated to be so humiliating to Ireland
was, as far as it relates to the colony trade, in fact a necessary
condition voluntarily agreed to by themselves in order to enjoy
that trade, and that they in fact now enjoy it by Lord North's
Act expressly under a similar condition, he fairly acknowledged
that to be the case, but they could now at any time get rid of
the condition by waiving the benefit, whereas by this permanent

* Fox's speeches on May 12, 23, and 30, 1785, were very powerful.
It is interesting and instructive to note the entirely different lines of
argument used by Fox in the earUer and later debates on the resolutions.
Thus, on February 22, 1785, he said : ' The whole tendency of the pro
positions appeared to go the length of appointing Ireland the sole
guardian of the laws of navigation, and grand arbitress of aU the com
mercial interests of the empire,' a trust which he felt no sort of inclina
tion to part with out of our own hands. Then he referred to the
extravagant length of concession to Ireland, and that ' he would trust
everything to the generosity, but not much to the prudence of Ireland.'
Later, when the eleven resolutions had been expanded uito twenty,
to meet EngUsh criticisms and objections, he loflUy said ' he would not
barter English commerce for Irish slavery.'

128 PITT
settlement neither the benefit nor the condition would cease but
by mutual consent.
This was urged to be, what in truth it plainly was, an
admission, if his argument meant anything, that there could
never be any permanent settlement with Ireland, consistent with
the independence of their Legislature, which did not either reswm,e
the grant of fhe colony trade or annul the condition on which it
was granted, which every Irishman has admitted to he reasonable
and just ; and that consequently all his resolutions moved in
1782, and his declarations recently made of wishing well to a
final settlement, were to be treated only as deceit and imposture.
The whole tendency of this language is indeed too plain to be
misunderstood. In fact, every man in the House, except the
genuine offspring of Brooke's, was ashamed and afraid to
countenance it. The consequence was that on the division
there were 36 for the amendment and 194 against it. I send
you a copy of the resolution as it now stands, with the amend
ments we agreed to, by which you will, I hope, find it accom
modated to the ideas suggested in the letter I received from you.
We did not think it necessary to particularise in the resolution
the time within which the regulations in our laws should be
enacted by the Parliament of Ireland, thinking that detail
best left to the Act by which this settlement must be con
cluded. It was, however, explained that the contents of any laws
passed here could not be supposed to have any operation in
Ireland till the sitting of the Irish Parliament had given them
an opportunity to pass the Acts for the purpose. We have
made use of the words ' the same benefits and restraints,' though
not those of Mr. Telverton's Act, because they seem safer and
more explicit.
I have written this from the extreme anxiety that nothuig
on this great subject should be misunderstood, and I really trust
to the good sense of leading men in Ireland that the incendiary
attempts of opposition on this part of it will be felt and
exposed as it ought. I must add, however, that while I am
writing all this it is with a strong doubt on my mind whether
all our views will not be finally disappointed. By your letter

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 129
to Rose, which came to me last night in the House, I find you
still apprehend an impossibility of perpetuating the laws for
collecting the hereditary revenues. I can add nothing to what
I said on that subject in my last letter. I do not comprehend
how any separation can be made of the regulations and the
penalties. If you think any such thing can be done, I wish
much to see as soon as possible the precise detail and mode of
doing it. But I must say, melancholy as it is, that I entertain
little hope of reaping now any further advantage from our long
struggle than that of holding out to Ireland the whole of our
system digested, the compliance of every article almost she has
desired, accompanied only by provisions indispensable to our own
security, and then leaving to her at last the option, with the
whole before her, whether she will accept or reject it. Her
refusal, or even her hesitation, will be injurious to herself and to
the empire. But we can do no more, and we must wait with
painful anxiety for the issue. I am impatient to hear still what
is further said on the subject of friezes, muslins, etc. I believe
there has been some mistake about it, and that they are burthened
with duties which it is impossible to say were intended ; at least,
what is stated as the ground seems to us not tenable, and I
believe the best thing that we can do is to endeavour some way
or other to leave this point open, that the detail of duties may
be settled when the book of rates is compiled, only taking care
that they shall, at all events, not exceed the lowest rate now
subsisting in the two countries.
Tou shall not fail to hear, from time to time, every step in our
progress, which I fiatter myself will now be comparatively rapid.
Believe me to be, etc.,
W. Pitt.
The words of this letter are characteristic, clear,
strong and resolute, the words of a man who was con
vinced that he was right and would stand no nonsense.
The correspondence of Pitt, Beresford and Eose
from London with the Duke of Eutland and Orde in
DubUn, during the months of June, July and August, K

180 PITT
1785, shows how keenly everything was canvassed, and
how disastrous were the efforts of the work of the
Opposition in exciting and fomenting Irish jealousy and
pride against the resolutions.
There were two points especiaUy to which attention
was directed. Pitt was clearly of opinion that there
must in each country be identical laws^ for trade,
navigation and colonial commerce, and also that due
provision should be made for the coUection of the
hereditary revenue. The hereditary revenue in Ireland
consisted of certain duties levied on most goods im
ported, an excise duty upon articles of common con
sumption, and a hearth tax. It would appear to be
scrupulously fair to select as Ireland's contribution the
surplus of such a revenue, which would depend upon
the exact proportion Ireland would benefit by the com
mercial advantages.
Pitt adhered resolutely to his plan throughout, hoping
that Ireland would not be ' mad enough ' to throw away
aU the advantages offered. The Duke of Eutland, Orde,
and Beresford, ahve to the flame that was being fanned
in Ireland, were anxious to evade its force by keeping
back the English resolutions, and to submit to the
Irish Parhament a BiU the same as that introduced in
' Mr. Gladstone, in the House of Commons, in Jime 1893, stated :
' The United Kingdom, firom geographical circumstances as weU as firom
circumstances which were social and moral, constituted one great and
vast trade circle. I base my position on this, that it was vital to the
commerce of the three kingdoms that there shoidd be uniformity of
commercial law firom one extremity of the land to the other.' In his
Special Aspects of the Irish Question he also says : ' The views of
Mr. Pitt for Ireland, as they were expressed in the year 1784 by his cor
respondence with the Duke of Eutland, were everything that equity
and justice could suggest.'

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 131
England, and an Address which would be conciliatory.
They said to the Cabinet — Keep the resolutions ; be
satisfied with the Address and Bill.
It would appear as if at the end the Irish Executive
did not even see its way to doing more, in face of the
outcry raised, than introduce the Bill at the close of the
session, and then try what the next session would do.
The correspondence during these three months gives
a vivid idea of the hopes and fears of those who were
loyally anxious to carry to a successful adjustment the
commercial arrangements of the two countries. The
letters ^ of Pitt are conciliatory but resolute : suaviter in
modo, fortiter in re : Downing Street : June 15th, 1785.
My dear Sir, — I have seen Mr. Beresford, and have had
some conversation with him. Some of the difficulties he states
to me are new, and a good deal surprised me. I have, how
ever, explained to him the outline of the ideas which loosely
occurs to obviate them. There is no accommodation to opinion
or prejudice, consistent with the real principle of our resolutions,
which we shall not be ready to introduce into the Bill to facili
tate the completion of this great business ; but you should place
your account to this, that from the substance of those resolu
tions we cannot depart, even though the risk should be that
which, of all others, I think the greatest for both countries —
that of throwing off' the whole settlement till another year. I
do not enter into any detail till I have explained farther with
B., but send only these few words, as he tells me he is
despatching a messenger.
W. Pitt.
Pitt to the Duke of Eutland : ^
Downing Street : June 20th, 1785.
My dear Duke, — ... I am really at a loss to know on what
consistent ground an opposition can stand in Ireland to our
> Bolton MSS. ^ Ibid. K 2

132 PITT
fourth proposition. The uniformity of laws proposed to be
stipulated seems rather to be a striking recognition than an
infringement of the independence of Ireland. If the stipulation
is agreed upon, it is their own act. They need not accept the
settlement if they dislike the conditions annexed to it ; but if
they think it worth taking they bind themselves to what is
necessary on their part, as any independent nation binds itself
by treaty to another. . . .
I see the mischief (though I think it hardly a possible one)
of the plan being madly rejected, or even postponed, by Ireland.
The revival of the Volunteers, the renewal of every species of
confusion, and a sort of commercial war between the two king
doms, may be the consequence ; but if the bent of Ireland should
be too strong against the system, which is at least as much for
their benefit as ours, I know no reason why this country should
attempt to force it upon them. We do our part in holding it
out for their acceptance ; if they choose to reject it, they must
judge for themselves. While I say this I feel, nevertheless,
that every accommodation to smooth difficulties ought to be
given on each side ; without it such a settlement must be im
possible, but I had rather it should fail totally for the present
than that any of the essential objects should be compromised.
If the friends of Ireland, and especially of British Govemment,
are wise, they will not suffer it. Tours, etc., W. Pitt.
Beresford's letters to Orde describing the proceedings
in London are fuU of life and intelUgence. His descrip
tion of an important debate in the House of Lords is
very graphic : London : ' 9th July, 1785.
My dear Sir, — Having yesterday at six o'clock discharged
myself of that dead weight which hung upon my mind — the
sending off to you the Bill — I have felt light ever since, and
bore with the most Ohristian patience the very dullest debate
I had ever the misfortune to endure, except a repetition of the
' Bolton MSS., Beresford to Orde.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 183
very same from Sir Jno. Hort to BarrS this moming, in which
was compressed the whole essence of dulness contained in Lord
Stormont's speech of two hours and a half, together with a very
bad representation of Lords Camden, Thurlow, and Lansdowne.
But I beg pardon. I forgot that you were, just at the moment
when you receive this, reading the Bill on which depends the
fate of nations. Read on. But, to enable you to judge, I am
ordered by adverse fate to give you an account of last night's
debate in the Lords, which I can truly give in these few
words: — Question that the Chairman leave the chair. Ayes,
25 ; Noes, 58. This is the most favourable state of the debate,
for it was very bad. Nobody, I believe, on either side, under
stood a sentence of the resolutions, and therefore no one spoke
to the merits. The speakers were Lord Sydney, Lord Carlisle,
Lord Coventry, Lord Dudley, Lord Walsingham, Lord Derby,
who was the best on his side, very much. The first was worse
than nothing ; the second indifferent ; third, a few words very
well ; fourth spoke as well as he could for us, and voted
against us, lest his neighbours should say he betrayed them ;
the fifth very dull ; Lord Camden, a very pleasant piece of
flowing language, much admired, but not satisfactory to any
mind conversant with the subject ; Lord Stormont, hell and the
devil, two hours and twenty minutes — I may well say devil,
for there was not a man who had the misfortune to hear him
who did not wish him a place apud inferos. Lord Lansdown
answered him, or rather spoke after him ; he set out minutely
well, got latterly into confusion, but was very well on the whole.
He came purposely out of regard to the Duke and his secretary,
and indeed he paid very handsome compliments to you both,
and you are obliged to him. Lord Loughborough answered ;
I understand him very unwell; he was below himself; argued
nothing and dealt in quibbles. Then was an altercation with
Lord Lansdown ; then came Lord Thurlow, whp used his own
tomahawk pretty freely ; he was the best, I think, by much,
but still our business was not done justice to ; Lord Derby
replied very bad ; Lord Stormont worse ; Lord King a few
words on our side.
Question put and carried. Argument on our side. By-

134 PITT
standers near the Throne with us. This is all I can say ; par
ticulars I refer to Woodfall. . . . J. Beresford.
He was strong against the conduct of the Opposition,
and in his letter ^ of July 12, 1785, to Orde he mentions :
' Opposition ^ let out all their secrets as to Ireland, the
Duke of P. (Portland) declared that he never had, when
in Ireland, nor his noble friend deceased, the smaUest
idea of giving any commercial advantages (or conceding
was the word) to Ireland : that had any such thing
been in contemplation here, he would have had himself
laid at His Majesty's feet to implore leave to resign his
situation, that he might not have been made an instru
ment in granting such capital disgrace, nay, such capital
ruin upon the trade of England. These were his words,
for which take care I am not quoted when the debates
get over. Be sure his speech and Lord Stormont's
appear.' He obviously only wanted the BUl through
anyhow, and the substantial gain obtained for Ireland,
and did not at aU sympathise with the Cabinet's not
complying with the views of the Irish executive in
favour of passing the English BiU, and against the
resolutions being sent over. In his letter of July 20,
1785, to Orde, he says : ' It is not yet determined
ultimately how to proceed, but I have no doubt it wiU
' Bolton MSS,
^ Sheridan took a briUiant part in the Opposition. Pulteney, writing
to the Duke of Eutland in July 1785, says : ' He entertained the House
with the wittiest and most ingenious abuse of the resolutions that I yet
heard or could conceive had at this time been left unsaid, and if Mr.
Woodfall — who is bought by the CoaUtion — can do him justice, your
grace wUl be entertained by so many ingenious whimsical iUustrations.'
(Hist. MSS, Com,, Butland Correspondence, iii. 231.)

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 135
be put as we^ have settled heretofore. The same
objections are now offered as to the absolute passing of
the BiU, as I have already mentioned to you ; the
answer to which is that if they are told from Ireland,
that the passing the BiU, and not sending over the resolu
tions, is the most Ukely way of conciliating the country,
why are they to put their argumentative speculations
in opposition to facts stated, of which they are not com
petent to judge ? This has its due weight ; however, I
am by no means certain of our ground in this particular,
for doubtless it is a cavalier treatment, and liable to
extensive argument.'
It was certainly very plain speaking, but Beresford
was a shrewd, clear-headed Irishman, who felt he had a
right to speak about Irish questions with authority.
The Duke of Eutland ^ did his best to smooth
difficulties, and actuaUy saw Grattan and told him of
Pitt's disposition to modify ' as far as candour could
require, those parts which were deemed exceptionable in
Ireland.' He, however, reported that he found him
' impracticable in a degree scarcely credible,' and that
he ' held firm in his opinion that anything except the
eleven specific propositions as they went from Ireland
was perfectly inadmissible.' This was clearly an im
practicable attitude.
It is manifest that Beresford thought little of and
suspected Pitt's colleagues :
London : ^ 23rd July, 1785.
My dear Sir, — The more I see the more I suspect that there
is something rotten in the controlling powers : it is impossible,
' Rutland to Pitt, in July 1785 (Butland Correspondence).
« Bolton MSS.

136 PITT
and it would be improper, for me to enter into particulars in a
letter ; and, indeed, unnecessary also. I shall, therefore, delay
to say more until I see you. Mr. Pitt deserves the thanks ol
Ireland, if every man got what he deserved. Ever, etc.,
J. B.
To the Et. Honble. Thos. Orde.
Eose, a sober Englishman, was afraid of delays.
' The situation of Ireland,' he says,^ ' would be perplexing
to both Governments in a degree beyond aU beUef if no
arrangements take place : the use she would then make
of her independent Lfegislature under mad councils,
which sober people would not be able to resist, would be
ruinous to us and herself.'
Orde never wavered in his admiration for Pitt.
' At aU events,' he writes : ^ ' I am so sensible of the
manly and noble part which Mr. Pitt has acted that I
wiU die by inches in the cause of his support, convinced
from my heart, as an EngUshman, that you may safely
agree to the essential points of accommodation which,
as a temporary Irishman, I am obliged to forward to
you.' Orde also wrote a vigorous letter ® to Beresford on
the next day, again protesting against ' the unexpected
dilemma to which the late decision of the Cabinet has
reduced us,' stating that he had spent twelve hours
with Lord Earlsfort (Clonmel) and Foster* upon the
position, and that they had ' a most decisive opinion
that we could not hope for any safety whatever to the
» Bolton MSS. Letter to Orde, July 16, 1785.
» Ibid. Letter to Eose, July 16, 1785.
= Ibid. Orde to Beresford, July 27, 1785.
¦* ChanceUor of the Exchequer in Ireland, afterwards Speaker.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 137
plan of a settlement if the resolutions should be
brought before the House of Commons,' that Parliament
would not endure the resolutions without 'a strong
motion expressive of reprobation of the fourth resolu
tion, and some alteration of the words of it.' He
proceeded : ' Great concern was expressed that the most
unquestionable opportunity of success was thrown away,
as there could have been no doubt of carrying a BiU
here similar to the EngUsh BiU if Mr. Pitt had been
able to effect his first purpose of passing it into an Act
before we should have been called upon to take any
step. ... A determination not to pass the English Bill
tiU Ireland should set the example would create in
superable jealousy and suspicion. It would be argued
that this was a design to entrap this country a second
time, and in a more serious way than on the first
occasion. Eesolutions were then, it would be said,
adopted by Ireland as her own upon a supposition that
they would be agreed to by Great Britain. It is now
attempted to draw Ireland into a second snare by
inducing her to pass a BiU by which she will engage to
be contented with certain terms, and then who can en
sure her against a total departure from them in the BiU
which Great Britain is to pass ? . . . For God's sake, try
as a last effort to rescue us from the resolutions. The
Address and the BiU wiU then not be thrown away, be
cause they wiU serve as a proof of good intentions ; but,
coming here with the resolutions, they would with them
be spurned at. . . . You are aware that I do not con
tend about the propriety and justice of such violence, but
it is my duty to represent the almost inevitable event.'

188 PITT
Orde seems this month to have worked morning,
noon and night on this question. A letter ^ from him
to Eose is dated ' 30 p. 2 a.m., July 28, 1785,' in which
he says : ' In one word, if the resolutions shall be sent
to us we are ruined, unless we are aUowed to withhold
them from Parhament. It matters not that this may be
unjust and unreasonable. The fact will so turn out.'
In another long letter ^ of the same date to Eose he
says : ' What happened to me yesterday ! Lord Earls
fort and Foster, two of our firmest friends, declared the
impossibility to admit the resolutions in the Journals
without a stigma, which the just pride and honour of
Great Britain could not endure. It is vain to argue
upon the unreasonableness of this point. They are not
to blame. Their sentiments of the real case may be the
same as ours, but they dare not stand against a torrent
which on such a question would bear us aU away.
Besides, this decision was so necessary that it cannot be
accounted for but by a supposition of a fixed design to
overthrow the whole plan, and to make the Irish
Government the contemptible instruments of it. I
again repeat my conviction that we had secured for you
a moral certainty of success. I hardly say too much now,
when I apprise you of as great a certainty of defeat,
unless you can yet keep back the accursed resolutions
and suffer us to proceed in our own way. ... At present
it is decided by these gentlemen (politicians) that either
we are given up by Mr. Pitt and his friends, or that he
is forsaken by them, the consequence of either of which
ideas is the same. Those, indeed, who judge most from
1 Bolton MSS. * Ibid.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 139
appearances form another conjecture very much to our
disadvantage, and suppose that we are combined with
our friends on the other side to deceive the friends of
Government here. . . . Do not imagine that I justify
these rash proceedings here. They are most unwarrant
able, and I have almost worn out my lungs in declaring
and arguing against them. But I must freely own that
after what has passed we ought not to have heard of the
resolutions.' In a letter ^ to Beresford of the same date Orde says :
' I am, however, at the same time, cut to the heart with
the unreasonable repugnance to admit these resolutions,
which the Parliament of Great Britain has condescended
to explain in a manner so flattering and conciliatory to
Ireland. . . . Our friends have conceived notions of
diffidence in Mr. Pitt's power over his Cabinet, and are
very suspicious of designs in some to defeat the measure
entirely.' These suspicions were to some extent shared by
Beresford and Orde. Beresford, in a 'most private' letter,
aUudes mysteriously to suspicions he entertained, and
was repUed to by Orde in a letter dated 'Thursday
morning, 2 a.m.,' and saying : ' I am strongly incUned
to suspect, as you do, and yet it is very extraordinary.
We, however, have done our duty, and it wiU not be
our fault if aU does not go well. Mr. Pitt deserves
all our praise, and it is secure to him here, but my
suspicion is now strengthened of the good intentions of
some of his coUeagues.'
Pitt kept calmly on his course : he had complete
> Bolton MSS.

140 PITT
confidence in himself and in the justice and propriety of
his action. He had fought the battle of the resolutions
openly, and in the face of day. He had only insisted on
what he thought was reaUy essential, and although
wiUing to present the points in a conciliatory form, he
had no intention of receding from the substance. He
was resolute against any attempt to ' fritter down '
under colour of making ' more palatable,' and he was
clear that any effort to ' bhnk or disguise ' a fundamental
point would be as ruinous as it would be disgraceful.^
His letters are perfectly calm and courteous :
Downing Street : '' Aug. Srd, 1785.
My dear Sir, — I felt more pleasure than I can express in
your letter received yesterday, especially after the contents of
the former. The substantial difficulties are, I trust, so far
overcome that a continuance of address and exertion will secure
the rest. Be assured that we all most truly and cordially wish
to adopt every expedient that can smooth your labours. I wish
it were possible to do so in the point of not transmitting the
resolutions. But you will already have learnt from B. that we
have thought it quite impracticable. I trust the effect of the
Address (accompanied as it will be by the Bill, which we have
laboured to make as fully in the same spirit) will make this
point of less importance, especially as, perhaps, the entering
the resolutions on the Journals may be unnecessary. The
eleven Irish resolutions will not appear in ours, and if the same
thing can be silently managed with you, it will be very well.
Any direct question against entering them must, to be sure, be
resisted as an affront, and indeed will now, I think, hardly be
attempted. The plan you propose for your proceedings seems
unexceptionable. The fortnight's adjournment will, I think,
be useful for giving time for our Address and Bill to be circu-
^ Butland Correspondence. Pitt to Eutland, August 8, 1785.
^ Bolton MSS.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 141
lated, and to operate in the country. Tour examinations at
the Bar will, I hope, be short ; but I am sure, from our ex
perience, that they ought to have a free scope given to them.
On the whole, I trust we are now nearly on certain ground.
We have done all that seemed to us possible to be done to
send the business finally from hence in the most conciliatory
shape, and I am sure you will agree that it is now equally neces
sary to give an impression of our firmness in adhering to it. . . .
I mean to write to the Duke on a thousand subjects which I
have been obliged to postpone, as soon as I get into the West.
W. P.
Eose, writing to Orde on August 7, says that Pitt
did not think it possible to admit of any alteration in
the Irish Bill respecting the unity of navigation and
trade laws, ' which is the only subject of any import
ance about which you express anxiety,' and adds :
'With respect to a resolution asserting the absolute
independence of your Legislature for both external
and internal purposes, commercial and political, etc.,
or any other nonsense Mr. Flood can invent, there can
be no possible objection to it from hence, but you may
judge whether he may not tack somewhat to your
resolutions which may be mischievous.'
Pitt showed no sign of weakness, and in the following
letter to Orde^ used the language of courage and
determination :
Burton Pynsent : Aug. 8, 1785.
My dear Sir, — I was just preparing to write a few lines to
you when I received, by a messenger from Eose, your letter of
the Srd. I trust the Bill, in the shape you will receive it, can
occasion no difficulties. I hope it the more anxiously because I
1 Bolton MSS.

142 PITT
can conceive none which can be removed. We have taken
infinite pains to put everything, and particularly what relates to
the fourth proposition, in the light most unexceptionable and most
flattering to the feelings of Ireland. The principle of a neces
sary uniformity of navigation laws is admitted. The Bill, in
order to obtain it, stipulates that all the laws to be made by
Great Britain shall confer equal benefits, etc., and that Ireland
shall enact laws to do the same there. Our legislative rights
are surely as much bound as yours, and Ireland, instead of
having to register edicts, will have always as free a judgment as
England whether the laws in fact are equal. To blink in any
respect so fundamental a point can answer no good purpose.
It would betray a weakness enough to ruin our cause at present,
or, if not, must leave all the settlement in constant hazard here
after. I vdll not, however, plague you by discussion, for I am
sure I can give you no better arguments than will suggest
themselves to you. I must, however, distinctly apprise you
that on this point there does not exist in the mind of any man
here the possibility of relaxation. On the subject of the here
ditary revenue, we have modelled our Bill in the way most
likely to please, that is, as generally as possible. It is essential
that your preamble should not omit the words in time of peace
in the sentence which speaks of the propriety of providing
towards defraying, etc., the necessary expenses of the empire.
It is also essential to enact as a principle that aU laws for the
collection of additional duties should be applicable to the here
ditary revenue, and, in case the additional duties cease, either
the same laws, from time to time, or others equally effectual.
We have inserted in our Bill (with some risk) the exceptions
for rum, linens, and provisions, as far as relates to duties. The
idea of Ireland giving a bounty to the Colonies where we do
not cannot go down, and it would be useless. For if it is
worth while for Ireland to give a bounty on the export of her
linens it will be worth our while to do so that they may go through
this country. I hope your health will support itself through
the remainder of this arduous task. My motion for bringing
in the Bill was not expressly grounded on the resolutions, but
was in general words ' for finally settling, etc.,' as appears in the

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 143
title. I fear my letter can hardly reach you before Thursday,
but I take my chance. An answer to your address is now out
of the question, and I think would be liable to some risk, for a
reason that Hose has assigned to you.
W. P.
The result is weU known. Orde asked leave to
introduce a Bill into the Irish House of Commons
embodying the items of the adjustment, and he did
so in a clear, able and conciliatory speech. He was
strongly opposed, and it was obvious from the start
that his opponents were numerous and sanguine.
Grattan made a long, eloquent and impassioned speech,^
never once, however, seriously grappling with the
arguments of Pitt or reaUsing his standpoint. He
demanded that the Irish Parliament might be trusted
to do what was right, and that experience had not
shown that they could not be relied on. But in matters
of important private contract, no matter how true the
trust, common sense always requires the agreement to
be put into formal shape. In treaties between nations,
no matter how closely allied, the form of the arrange
ment is always most elaborately reduced to writing.
So in the case of this Bill : it was not a question of dis
trust, but one of ordinary prudence, to have a clear
^ WoodfaU, the Parliamentary reporter, says : ' He said some of the
finest things in the newest mode ; ' and the Viceroy, in his letter to Pitt,
August 13, 1785 (Butland Correspondence), says : ' The speech of Mr.
Grattan was, I understand, a display of the most beautiful eloquence
perhaps ever heard, but it was seditious and inflammatory to a degree
hardly credible.' Grattan had a generous though rather inflated way of
praising the oratory of his firiends. Thus he described Yelverton's speech
on the Catholic claims in 1782 : ' It was the march of an elephant, it was
a wave of the Atlantic, a column of water 3,000 feet high ' (Irish Quarterly
Beview, iv. 108).

144 PITT
Statutable contract for the collection of the hereditary
revenue, and for an identical code of laws which would
prevail in each country in relation to the great com
merce which was now to become a common subject
matter. Of course, like aU contracts, it might be broken,
and there was nothing in the BiU proposed by Orde
which did or could take away from the Irish Parlia
ment the power of breaking the contract and dissolv
ing the agreement. Grattan's appeal to experience
was idle. But three years had passed since 1782 — the
only time within which there could have been expe
rience — and even if a longer time had elapsed that
would not have induced Pitt to leave this great part
of the arrangement in a loose and unsettled state.
Grattan was entirely sincere. He felt that he himself
could be trusted not knowingly to abuse any of the
new powers acquired in 1782, and this indeed he
showed more than once in subsequent years.^
Curran also made a violent speech, in which he said :
'We may ratify our own infamy. We cannot ratify
our own slavery, and I shall vote against the BUl, as
leading to a schism between the two nations that must
terminate in a civil war, or in a union at best.' The
rejection of the Bill might give, and did in fact supply,
• When on February 5, 1794, Sir L. Parsons moved, in the Irish
House of Commons, for copies of several conventions and treaties which
had been laid before the British ParUament relative to the great war then
going on, Grattan opposed it as ' an artificial 'motion to bring into debate
obi ections against the war— an artificial argument to interest the pride of
the Assembly in the abuse of an unquestionable privilege, which it
proposed to abuse in order to assert.' Some of Grattan's supporters, in
resisting the BiU proposed by Orde, may also be said to have been
influenced by an 'artificial argument to influence the pride of the
Assembly.'

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMMERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 145
an argument for the union. It is hard to see how its
enactment could be so used. But the BiU in the
debate was treated more as a matter of sentiment,
feeUng, nationalism, than of argument. The declama
tion of Fox at Westminster had done its work, and
Orde had only a majority 6f nineteen when the division
was taken. This was accepted as amounting practic
aUy to a defeat, and Orde proceeded no further. The
result was regarded as a triumph to Irish ideas, and
Dublin was iUuminated. On August 13, 1785, the
Lord-Lieutenant wrote an account of the defeat to
Pitt, who replied,^ August 17, 1785, calmly and with
dignity :
My dear Duke, — I confess myself not a little disappointed
and hurt on your account, by your letter and Mr. Orde's of the
event of Friday. I had hoped that neither prejudice nor party
could on such an occasion have made so many proselytes
against the true interests of the country, but the die seems in a
great measure to be cast, at least for the present. Whatever it
leads to, we have the satisfaction of having proposed a system
which I believe will not be discredited even by its failure, and
we must wait times and seasons for carrying it into effect. . . .
It is still almost incomprehensible to me who can have been the
deserters who reduced our force so low, and wait with great
impatience for a more particular account. All I have to say in
the meantime is very short ; let us meet what has happened
with the coolness and determination of persons who may be
defeated but cannot be disgraced, and who know that those
who obstruct them are greater sufferers than themselves. . . . Our
cause is on too firm a rock here to be materially shaken, even
for the time, by this disappointment, and when the experience of
this fact has produced a little more wisdom in Ireland I
believe the time will yet come when we shall see all our views
realised in both countries and for the advantage of both. It
^ Butland Correspondence, p. 117. L

146 PITT
may be sooner or later, as accident or perhaps (for some time)
as malice may direct, but it vnll be right at last. We must
spare no human exertion to bring forward the movement as
early as possible, but we must be prepared also to wait for it on
one uniform and resolute ground, be it ever so late. . . .
Believe me ever your most affectionate and faithful friend,
W. Pitt.
The Duke of Eutland deemed it right to send Cooke
to London to explain fuUy everything in person to
Pitt. Flood, on the 15th, in order to emphasise and
place on record the feelings of the Opposition, brought
forward a motion for the purpose of declaring ' the
four propositions as passed in the Parhament of Great
Britain as destructive of the liberties and Constitution
of Ireland.' Orde managed the difficulty by postpon
ing the whole matter; and the foUowing was Pitt's
letter ^ to Orde when apprised of what had occurred :
Putney Heath : Saturday, Aug. 20, 1785.
My dear Sir, — Tour account of the proceedings of Monday,
15th, reached me yesterday. Comparing the event with
what had preceded, I can most heartily congratulate you upon
it. Nothing, I think, could be wiser than the decision of post
poning the business, or the tone in which it was announced. I
apprehend a prorogation should clearly follow, and we had
anticipated that opinion even before yesterday's account.
Flood's having been obliged to withdraw his motion is, under
such circumstances, a victory. The future measures should
depend altogether on the temper of the nation. At the same
time, I need hardly say that every exertion should be made to
encourage the leading interest in aU parts of the kingdom, both
to make the people understand their true interests and to pre
vent the manceuvres of opposition from raising any present
ferment among the remains of the Volunteers or the body of the
1 Bolton MSS.

CORRESPONDENCE ON COMliIERCIAL RESOLUTIONS 147
people. It will probably not be prudent to press for any public
declarations in favour of the plan till there has been time for
the prejudice to subside, and for the subject to be more fully
understood. In the meanwhile, it is enough to stand on the
defensive. I am very far from despairing that tbe nation may
ere long see its true interests ; and at all events I shall reflect
with satisfaction on the attempt made to promote it, as well as
on the firm and zealous support of the true friends of both
countries. The merit of their conduct is great in itself, and not
a little heightened by the contrast which the times have
afforded. I have no doubt that perseverance and good faith on
the part of Government and its supporters will yet efface the
effects of that disgraceful policy which has in some late Ad
ministrations prevailed in Ireland, and to which most of the
difficulties of the present moment are to be ascribed.
Pray make my affectionate compliments to the Duke, and be
so good as to express to the friends you particularly mentioned
how warmly their conduct is felt here.
The time of prorogation must, I imagine, be regulated by the
interest necessary for passing the Bills depending. Our Parlia
ment will not meet till after Christmas.
W. Pitt.
Thus, very early, a great difference in a matter of
imperial concern had arisen between the EngUsh and
Irish Parliaments. It was caused by playing upon the
warm and patriotic feelings of the popular party in
Ireland. The acceptance of the BiU would have been
wiser, and more in accordance with the true and ob
vious interests of Ireland. In substance it was clearly
for the benefit of the country. The main objections
were to forms, and rested, as was said in the corre
spondence, on a ' punctilio ' and on a ' phantom.' To
deUberately cause a miscarriage of this great arrange
ment was factious and wrong, and the statesmanship of
those who are responsible must in this important L 2

148 PITT
matter be gravely impugned. Mr. Morley,* in his
judicial summing up, says that the course of the Oppo
sition was factious, and as Burke followed Fox as his
leader he found it hard to vindicate him from the
' charge of factiousness.' ' For once he aUowed his
political integrity to be bewUdered.'
' Burke, by John Morley.

¦H&ZlUl'tfi^KiiiU.fi^ie

y//f f/rra/^ to o-mymM-n^-T^

149

CHAPTEE V
pitt's mother and eldest BROTHER
Pitt's love for his family — His brother — His sisters — Bishop Tomline
preserved some famUy papers — Lady Chatham's letters to Pitt —
Long gap in them — Her letters to EUot — To Mr. WUson — Seven of
her letters to Mr. WUson — Three to Eliot — Letters to Mr. WUson
referring to Pitt — ^Pitt to his mother — Lady Chatham to Pitt — To her
two sons — To Pitt — Duel with Tierney — Pitt's account to his mother
— Of his brother's mUitajy conduct — Lady Chatham to Pitt — The
second Lord Chatham — Eirst Lord of Admiralty — Pitt thought a
change desirable — To make Lord Spencer First Lord — And to transfer
his brother to post of Lord Privy Seal — Lord Eldon's high estimate
of second Lord Chatham — Four letters firom Pitt to Chatham — and
four from Chatham to Pitt — The brothers continued on most afiise-
tionate terms — Incident showing how Pitt could subordinate famUy
feelings — Embarrassment of Pitt's finances — ^Advances to his brother
may partly account — His brother gets the Garter.
PiTT was a man with strong family feeUngs and a great
sense of duty to his own nearest relations.
He was the best of sons, and a kind and affectionate
brother. His correspondence with his father has been
ah-eady referred to, and Lord Stanhope's volumes show
how steadUy and how loyaUy he maintained his corre
spondence with his mother. His two sisters died in the
prime of their youth. Lady Hester seems to have been
a woman of abiUty — ^highly educated, and with many
social gifts. Lady Harriot was the youngest of the
family, and it may be inferred from aU the corre-

150 PITT
spondence that Pitt was greatly attached to her. She
married his own great friend Eliot, and she lived and
died (1786) in his house, leaving one Uttle girl, who
was reared by his mother, and to whom he was bound
by aU the ties of near blood and constant companion
ship. Lord Stanhope, in his preface, says that the Bishop
of Lincoln appeared to have destroyed nearly aU the
letters addressed to Pitt by members of his famUy,
and that among those in the coUection there was not
one from his mother, from either of his sisters, or from
either of his brothers, untU the time when his eldest
brother became his Cabinet coUeague. The Bishop
did not, however, destroy aU these famUy letters, for
he would appear to have preserved some of them,
most probably with a view of publishhig them in
the further volume of Pitt's biography in which
he contemplated dealing with family and personal
matters. I have been fortunate enough to find in the ' Prety
man MSS.' several letters of Lady Chatham to Pitt
(with, however, a great gap between 1775 and 1794),
and also a close series of letters from her to her son-in-
law Eliot (1786 to 1794), mainly about his daughter
and her progress and health, but with some references
to her son William. I have also found some interesting
correspondence between the brothers, which I have
used in their proper places in this book. The corre
spondence of Lady Chatham with the Eev. Mr. Wilson,
already referred to, comprises letters of deep interest
from 1766 to 1798. The foUowing letters of Lady

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 161
Chatham speak for themselves. The first seven ^ are
addressed to Mr. Wilson, and are speciaUy interesting
on account of the references they contain to Pitt :
Burton Pynsent : Feb. 2, 1784.
My dear Sir, — . . . . The sense of many a past glorious conflict,
the astonishing renewal of the same noble spirit, and honourable
effects from the exertion of it, fill my thoughts with a satisfaction
that needs no defining to you, who have rejoiced in the glories
of the father, and have a right to so touching a share in those
of the son. The rough and rude attacks made upon William
have happily only served to show how equal he is in every
superior quality to that important situation to which he has
been so honourably call'd, and in which he wou'd be continued
if the general voice of the people prevailed. He is therefore
much obliged to his enemies for having brought him to so
sharp a trial. I can never to myself seem half thankful enough
to the Supreme Being for having bless'd him with health to
resist such a load of anxious business without yielding under
the pressure of it. As much delighted as I have been with aiU
and every part of his conduct, I have never allow'd myself to
break in upon his time by sending him a letter to read which
wou'd only have told him what he was perfectly sure was in his
mother's heart and soul. The subject 1 was most tempted to
write upon was to beg him, and enjoin him, to be careful of his
health ; but the eagerness of the time could leave little respite
in his power, so I gave up the thought of it, and trusted that a
gracious Providence wou'd take care of him. By the time this
reaches you the great business will be decided of Coalition or
not. Much might be said upon that point, but a great deal is
necessary to be known to say anything properly upon it, and
nothing by the post can be right ; so I shall conclude that
matter, for the decision of which I shall wait with infinite
impatience. I hope the Septuagint will agree in thinking it
expedient that the Powers that be shou'd be supported. I
1 The Stanhope Papers,

152 PITT
admire Mr. Gloucester's having found so good an appellation
for the St. Albans meeting. . . .
Tour affectionate and faithful friend,
Hestee Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : Feb. 25, 1784.
Dear Sir, — Any pleasure or satisfaction my last letter can
have given you, yours of the 13th has most amply repaid.
When the post arrived after my last writ to you, I always said
to myself there is no good news — I hear nothing from Mr.
Wilson ; by which you will understand I continued for some time
to believe you still in town listening to our young man, and had
no idea of your excellent employment. I congratulate you on
the fiattering consequences that followed, and am delighted in
figuring in my mind a scene so very touchingly pleasing to
affectionate friends, whose love and attachment for my late
noble lord were so zealously transmitted by them to his (I must
say it) unequalled son. I read the whole account of what
past at the meeting with the most entire satisfaction, and I
approved and admired highly a speech of a Eev. Mr. Wilson,
whose political sentiments were exprest with a manly clear
ness, and his favourable testimony of the hero of the day,
delivered in the tenderest manner. When I had finished every
part, ' Berkshire for ever ' was the natural thing that occurred,
and which of course I said. I am indeed more pleased with the
whole together of what pass'd than with the proceedings of any
other county meeting that I, at least, have heard the account of.
Last night's post brought me a most agreeable letter from
Doctor Addington, writ with that warmth of heart which his
feelings on the occasion so easily inspired. Nothing is more
strikingly triumphant for the present Ministry than the stUe of
the address, and the resolutions of the thanks, leaving out the
non-deservers. I am persuaded the example of what was done
by so numerous a body of respectable freeholders will prove a
very useful one in various ways. . . .
* Tour affectionate, humble servant,
Hester Chatham.

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 153
Burton Pynsent : Nov. 2, 1784.
My dear Sir, — . . . . What you tell me of the satisfaction re
ceived from our young Minister's paying his duty at Windsor
conveys what makes me very happy, as allowing a confidence to
be taken that the eamest zeal for serving the great person in
question and advancing the prosperity of the country will be
rendered effectual by favour and support. The health and
spirits which I hear from everybody my son enjoys, and which
you have so kindly confirm'd, persuades me that he must feel
easy and happy. I am sure that you can be a judge for me of
the importance such a persuasion is to my peace and happiness,
as I am certain your own will be increased by it, and that the
retreat of each will be much improved by reflecting upon it.
I must have some little doubt how Binfield can have a right to
be called a sequester'd retirement. Burton, indeed, may claim
that character, secluded as it is from the grand world. I expect,
however, in the course of this month, that it will be so far a
place of public consequence as being pubKcly talked of from
my son's visit to it. He stands engaged to come to me, and I
hope it will be put into his power to perform his engagement.
I have lived a long time upon the pleasure of expecting him,
and if he comes I shall live a long time after upon the pleasure
of having seen him. His company will make everything
cheerful round us, tho' Winter is beginning his approaches.
However, we have still leaves and verdure beyond what is
common for the season, as if they prolonged their continuance
for his reception. I do really flatter myself that unless there
shou'd be business of extraordinary consequence he will obtain
the gracious permission of performing his promise to his
mother. I am, dear sir.
Tour affectionate friend and very humble servant,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent: January 1, 1785.
The delightful scene you found at Hollywood Hill leaves
an impression of satisfaction and happiness that is still felt
most sensibly. If I was to tell you all my thoughts and all my
joy, from the lively description you give me of the whole that

164 PITT
fill'd your imagination from what you saw of my dear William
in his retreat, I shou'd only give you back your own thoughts
and your own joy, for I do truly think, my dear sir, I cannot
feel more happiness upon this subject than you do. I am very
glad you like the situation. It is indeed much better for the
purpose of courting retired leisure, and enjoying some relaxa
tion from business, than Putney. Now he can insure a like
time to himself to think of his friends and of his affairs. I
don't love to consider the last for him, for reasons that I too
well know affect them, from my own situation at times. If
proofs of affection in some cases did not create regrets, nothing
could go beyond what I feel in consequence of those I have
continually received from him. Tou know he is the same
perfect creature in all respects, and therefore wUl not wonder
that he shou'd be the most amiable of sons. I live in hopes of
seeing him before the grand business of Parliament begins.
Tet I have so many fears about his coming that I change my
opinion and wish often, lest any distress shou'd happen in his
short absence. . . .
Tour affectionate and humble servant,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : March 19, 1785.
Dear Sir, — . . . What infinite happiness that my young
great man should have stood this most rigorous season without
suffering more from it than a common cold, and that that
shou'd have gone off' so kindly, without preventing him longer
from using his persuasive voice. I cou'd not help a thousand
tears abont it, tho' Harriot was very attentive in giving me
continual accounts of him that ought to have been satisfactory.
His not making me his intended visit alter'd extremely the
whole cast of the winter to me, for ic would have secured me a
foundation of pleasure that wou'd have carried me more agre'-
ably through it : but it wou'd not have been right so late in
the season to have had it take place. I have great comfort from
the circumstance of Harriot's being so agreeably establish'd
with her brother for the present, but I could not have her con
tinue long without engaging in a union of another sort, which

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 155
I hope there is no reason to think will be the case, aU things
considered as to the mind of the lady, and situation. As to
his honour, Mr. Pitt himself, he has not leisure to think of such
engagements, which I am the more easy about because I can
not help supposing that he may with success where ever he
pleases. . . . Tour affectionate friend,
Hester Chatham.
Burton Pynsent : Tuesday, April 1785.
. . . That ' old experience ' of thine has given me many
an anxious moment since I writ last to you, seeing how easy it
was by the arts of misrepresentation to give an alarm upon the
Irish propositions, on which so few people are qualified to be
perfect judges. I feel more at ease upon the success now than
I did, and I have the most heart-felt satisfaction in the contem
plation of that honorable and honest spirit with which our
Sully has gone forward in the business, leaving the consequence
it might have upon his situation as Minister quite out of the
question. I have so often admired the same conduct in the
dear father that I must rejoice undoubtedly to see it in the son
I love in the degree he merits to be loved. The conversation
which you was indulged with respecting my family makes me
vain for them ; for besides the honor of inquiry, you will have
given them praise (with a heart of affection) that must have
excited admiration of them. I enjoy so many present blessings
that I must not permit myself to speak of what occurs of regret.
Without it you will know what must pass in my mind for those
I have lost. I am not acquainted with Doctor Majendie, but I
am persuaded William wou'd never hesitate a moment upon
such an occasion in doing what was agreeable to the wishes of
his master. I take for granted you will have heard of the great
honor done Harriot in the commands of Her Majesty, at
different times, to attend of an evening at Buckingham House.
It is a very fiattering distinction, which is properly felt. Great
as the honor is, those parties are not always pleasure, but in
this case the last was joined, and Harriot is really, if I may
take the liberty to use the expression, in love with the Princess.
Tour most faithfull and affectionate,
Hester Chatham.

156 PITT .
Burton Pynsent : July 8, 1785.
My dear Sir, — . . . . Some thoughts now and then of the
disagreeable turn about the Shop Tax, and the delays intro
duced to retard the conclusion of the Irish business, so highly
important, will intrude themselves in these peaceful scenes, but
I exchange them as soon as possible for the happy ones of my
dear William's success with his country and his Maker. It is
to me amazing how he has had the powers to go through such
contention as he has done on every point of difficult business,
with his temper tried as it must have been by knowing that
those who opposed him knew that their arguments were false
and unfounded, which made it more piquing. I am obliged to
you for your kind wishes about the grant, which was settled as
you imagin'd. It pass'd very pleasingly for my son and myself,
the Opposition having given (as I understand) some agreeable
" Hear him's " when he named it in his modest manner, as being
so nearly concern'd iu it that he felt distressed from having it
to propose. . . . Tours with all sincerity and friendship,
Hester Chatham.
The next three letters are to her son-in-law Ehot :
Burton Pynsent : May 16, 1787.
My dear Mr. Eliot, — I have a particular pleasure in resum
ing my claim of writing to you this morning, because I have been
furnished by a visit from Doctor Warren, whom I saw a couple
of days ago, with something you will like to hear, tho' to a
certain degree it is a sort of repetition. He went, as he never
fails when he comes here, to pay his court to sweet child, and
she captivated him so much by all her little ways, and by
choosing to stay with him, that he was quite in raptures with
her ; and when he came back he assured me without any com
pliment, as he said, that she was altogether the handsomest, as
well as the healthiest child of her age he had ever seen. ... 1
am made extremely happy by your account of dear William.
The blessing of his health being continued to him, through such
a variety of trying occurrences, is unspeakable ; and wonderful it

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 157
also is that all the difficulties that present themselves seem only
to rise, as it were, to add an increase of honour to him. I have
been frequently intending to write to him to tell him how much
his successes influence my feelings in the points most sensible
to me, but then I think, having the honor to be his mother, I
need not engage any of his time to read what he beforehand
knows. Newmarket is not enough in favour with me not for
me to be glad that my dear son Chatham is returned from
thence. . . . I remain ever, my dear son,
Tour truly affectionate mother,
H. Ch.
Burton Pynsent : October 31, 1787.
My dear Mr. Eliot, — . . . I unwillingly take up a subject
which yet I cannot help saying a few words upon ; and that is
the distressing news ^ from Ireland, which you will have heard
before this time. Tou will participate vdth me in many
anxious feelings on the event. My son William writ to me to
impart himself the afflicting event to me. It was a great com
fort to me to receive a letter from him, knowing the weight of
a loss that friendship, as well as many important reasons besides,
must render heavy. He has been told by the poor Duhe's agent
that he is left one of the executors and guardians to his children.
A flattering mark, but which, I doubt, must bring too much
trouble with it for me to feel very glad of it. . . .
I am ever, my dear son.
Tour most truly affectionate mother,
H. Ch.
The evening has brought me the assurance of peace being
settled from dear William's own hand. I congratulate you.
Burton Pynsent : Saturday, July 18, 1789.
Ton have perfectly answer'd, my dear Mr. Eliot, the trust I
had that you wou'd be so good to send me an account of all par
ticulars of the state of this mortifying gout, which made the
attack, as I imagine, quite unexpectedly, because, by all I had
of my dear William's health, he cou'd have suffer'd no previous
^ The death of the Duke of Rutland.

158 PITT
sickness, to give an intimation of its intention. His writing me
word of the circumstance himself was the kindest and best pre
servative possible against my being alarm'd. Tou will have
found, from my letter to him, that his caution had had the pro
pos'd effect, and that I was not more than very sorry for the
unpleasing news. Unpleasing as it was, I still felt a joy from
seeing his hand. Thank God, it appears by your history of the
course it has gone on in that the attack has been of the most
favourable and wholesome sort, and I am quite happy with his
having yielded to the prudent advice of not putting on a shoe
whilst there was remaining tenderness in his foot. I cannot but
hope that he did not suffer himself to be tempted to go out
yesterday, and I flatter myself that there can be no call for his
doing it of a Saturday. His having quiet for two or three days
to allow time for the swelling to go down entirely will be a
great security against the danger of a retum.
I shou'd think, according to the opinion exprest by Mr. Fox
(or at least that the newspapers make his) of the people's pre
sent infatuation, that he means to decline, for this session at
least, all further opposition. Indeed, from both what you and
my son have said, the battle seems over for this campaign. I
admire extremely Mr. Secretary Grenville's speech. No intelli
gence can I get, directly, of Lord Buckingham, or the Marchioness.
What to conclude I don't know. Mrs. Stapleton writ to the
last, in my name, as well as her own, with all proper expres
sions, upon various apposite events, and our hopes that the
neighbourhood of Bath might be the means of our having a
glance at them. Not a word in retum hitherto. Poor Jacob is
starving in Wales, expecting the issue of my application. It is
very disagreeable to me. How many times have you said to
yourself, how long will she go on before she mentions my dear
girl ? I have reserved her this time for the boniie bouche. She
is as well as when Mrs. Stapleton writ Thursday, and that was
as well as possible. . . . She says she is very glad Uncle Pitt
is coming, and that she shall know him ; but she don't think he
will know her, as she is grown so great, , , .
I remain, my dear son.
Tour very truly affectionate mother,
H. Ch.

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 169
AU the time her correspondence with Mr. Wilson
went on — fuU of her son. On October II, 1791, from
Burton Pynsent, she wrote : ' There can be no occasion
for me to tell you the supreme happiness I enjoyed from
seeing my dear son William in the best looks and the
best health imaginable all the time he was here. He
was to have returned to us in about ten days from
Weymouth, but the unexpected early time fixed for the
Duke of York's marriage carried him to London, and
he picked up some gout, which, however, thank God,
proved very slight and ended soon.'
Writing in 1793, she alludes to ' the ease and gay
spirits of her dear son William.' In a later letter she
says : ' He did not look like a man charged, as one
may say, with the fate of kingdoms, but quite at his
ease. The uprightness of his intentions and the strength
of his mind saved him from feeling any oppression from
the weight upon him.'
Then comes the foUowing letter from Pitt to his
mother, showing how he was always anxious to let
her see he encouraged her being interested in public
affairs : Downing Street : July 31, 1793.
My dear Mother, — The happy account of the surrender of
Mayence has \been followed very quick by similar good news
from Valenciennes, which arrived this moming. There are
still one or two interesting events for which I must wait, and it
will not be possible for me to be absent on August 12, which
will probably be celebrated as the Prince's birthday. I am in
hopes nothing will put off my journey westward longer than
to-morrow or Friday fortnight.
Ever, my dear mother,
Tour dutiful and affectionate,
W. Pitt.

160 PITT
The foUowing letter shows the ready and generous
way in which Pitt was always ready to assist his mother :
Downing Street : Nov. 11, 1793.
My dear Mother, — I trust I need not say that my first vrish.
must always be to contribute to your ease and convenience, and
I am only sorry you should have given yourself so much trouble
where a single word would have been sufficient. I can furnish,
without difficulty, three hundred pounds, and will immediately
desire Mr. Coutts to place that sum to your account. Indeed, I
should not feel satisfied with myself in not naming at once a
larger sum if it were not that my accession of income has
hitherto found so much employment in the discharge of former
arrears as to have no very large fund which I can, with pro
priety, dispose of. This, however, will mend every day, and, at
all events, I trust you will never scruple to tell me when you
have the slightest occasion for any aid that I can supply. I
was fearful that poor Hester would not be indulged with staying
much longer, but I had not heard that she had actually left you.
The melancholy account of Lord Montague and Mr. Burdett I
am sorry to say, is true, and they were both, as I understand,, to
have married in Mr. Coutts' family.
We have no news but in the enclosed ' Gazette,' which con
tains accounts from L  , not very recent, but, as far as they
go, very satisfactory. Ever, my dear mother.
Tour dutiful and affectionate, W. PriT.
Burton Pynsent ; Feb. 27, 1794.
My dear Son, — This letter is, I assure you, not intended to
give you any repetition of my expression on your subject in that
which I writ to Mr. Eliot. It is no time for the pleasure of
indulging the saying what my different feelings and wishes are
about you, as you are pretty well acquainted with them already,
and would only break in upon your continual employment of
business. I have had this morning an appUcation from a sort of old

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER ifii
acquaintance of yours at Taunton, by name Foy, and I have
agreed to lay his request before you. I was the more ready to
be prevailed upon to do so because that town is in a state that
makes me glad to encourage the well disposed, and I believe he
is now really so, and hates the infemals (as he calls the French)
with the greatest aversion. His humble petition is in favour of
Mr. Thomas Poy, his nephew, who is about thirty years old,
and who has been fourteen or fifteen years in the army. He
served three years in Jamaica in the 60th Regiment, and then
returned to Taunton and went into the 94th, in which he
now remains lieuten' on half pay, and lives at Taunton. His
desire is that as there are to be barracks there, and that the
ground is already marked out for that purpose, he may be
appointed barrack-master when it is proper. Now you know
the whole, and will decide about it as you shall judge best.
Let me hear by your secretan-y what you shall or shall not do
about it, and I will let Foy know. I imagine it will be done
by Sir George.
I hope you will have had a fine day or two lately for Hol-
wood to blow a little sweet air upon you and Mr. Eliot, which,
I am sure, will have been good for both. I quarrel a little with
the present weather, for though the charming spring-like look
it gives eveiything is delightful there is more damp attending
it than I find agrees with my relaxed state, but on the whole I
am very well for me. Mrs. Stapleton and sweet girl the same.
I am ever, my dear son,
Tour most affectionate mother,
H. Ch.
Love to Mr. Eliot. Let me remind you of Woodford.
My dear Sons, — Advanced age, and the sense of increasing-
infirmities, admonish me that soon I must be to exchange this
earthly dwelling for one which, by the merits and thro' the
merciful mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour, shall be in the
blessed Heaven, trusting in the great and tender goodness of
the Almighty that my worldly sins will be forgiven by Him.
I feel that I caimot support the idea of leaving you, my beloved
sons, without trying to say unto ye how truly my fond affection M

162 PITT
has increasingly ever attended ye both, and that my constant
prayers have been daily addrest to the Omnipotent Disposer ot
all events, that you might be directed in all things by the bless
ing of heavenly wisdom, which would best ensure your happiness
here and hereafter, and thanksgivings have constantly been
offered by me for your conduct in all things, and by which you
have established to yourselves characters of the most virtuous
and able sort. I have now to say on my own part that I beg
my just debts may be paid, which are exceedings beyond the
income I have had to spend, altho' my dear sons have done
much for me in their kindness and affection for me. I do not
condemn myself for having incurred these exceedings, because
they were not occasioned by idle expenses, but by believing
what I did was, from different circumstances, best at the time it
was done. I shall have a very improved farm, with, I hope,
whenever it may happen, a valuable stock upon it, etc. My
dear friend, Mrs. Stapleton, has a demand upon me for all her
attention to me a thousand ways. I shaU trust in your
generosity to acquit me.
I may, perhaps, inclose a sort of memorandum in this,
written with great difficulty to myself last year, at a time when
I thought there was little hope of my surviving many days.
May God Almighty shower down his blessings upon ye both.
April 2, 1794.
Unable from the effects of continued illness, and the increases
of the infirmities of age, to say all I could in justification of the
state of my affairs, I will only express my ernest wish that my
chaise and little horses, with my chesnut mare, may be given to
Mrs. Stapleton ; also my silver tea urn, and my four silver bottle
frames, bought by myself.
Aug. 8, 1794.
To the Earl of Chatham and the Eight Hon. Mr. Pitt.
(In Lady C's handwriting.) Burton Pynsent : May 7, 1795.
My dear Son, — I am going, after a long talking morning, to
undertake writing a hasty letter to you, tho' unfitted a good
deal to use my pen ; but the case presses, and I s'^ be sorry
to delay till the next post, w*" will not be till Sunday. Tou

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 163
are well acquainted with Mr. Mitchell, and you know his merits
and his zeal in the public service, and the esteem he is held in
by Mr. Eliot and my nephews, who dined with me yesterday, who
expressed their regard for him. Now comes the business. . . .
I hope you are blest with the same fine weather that we
have here, and that you are capable of snatching opportunities
of enjoying it at Clapham (which I am quite happy you like so
well) or at delightful Holwood, w'' I wish five miles nearer
to London. I mend with the fine weather, and begin to enjoy
something like health again. God in Heaven bless you, my
dear son.
H. Ch.
Burton Pynsent : July 16, 1795.
The daily wished for post, in this time of expectation for
glorious news, arrived last night, bringing us only, my very dear
son, a most unpleasant account of the riot which had taken
place in your neighbourhood, and which completely distressed
our feelings. Tou don't want this information, for you will
easily figure to yourself that the idea of your house being visited
by the lawless, desperate mob was not of the most agreeable
sort. Vincent Stuckey, from a Mnd attention to relieve the
anxiety which it was natural the paragraphs in the papers
would create, writ to me the particulars of what passed on the
occasion, for which I feel very much obliged to him. I cannot
help indulging myself in the satisfaction of congratulating you
on having escaped further marks of their inspired insolence.
Tho' it is impossible, my dearest son, not to be in a degree
affected by events of such a kind, yet, thank God, I hold fast
my trust that the guardian power of the Almighty will shield
and protect the virtuous and the upright. Tou know, I guess,
that I am soon to have an account of the day being fixed for
my being once again to enjoy the pleasure of receiving your
brother and Lady Chatham, with Miss Townshend, at Burton.
I am in hopes that I may hear this evening positively wiiat
day they will come. We are in great beauty for them, and
rejoicing for our plentiful, promising crops. The finest weather
in the world for hay-making, and I have a noble quantity. I
u 2

164 PUT
flatter myself in about a month more we shall sing for joy at
the getting in of a harvest that may be a blessing to us. In
the meanwhile I pray for the prosperous success in all our
enterprises, that the spirit of the people may be kept up till the
proper boon oj peace arrives. God bless and preserve you, my
dear son. Tour ever affectionate mother,
Hester Chatham.
Do say something to encourage poor Mitchell in some hope.
He is truly unhappy, and does not deserve to be so.
The finding that we had not a line this evening to satisfy
our eager desire of having some charitable letter that might
inform us how things had been going on since our last hearing
has given us a very unsatisfactory evening, and the addition of
our dissapointment of not receiving the two usual news papers
which are regularly sent us from Downing Street increases the
uncomfortableness still more. Not a word from Lady Chatham
about the time intended for setting out. Now I beg we may
not be left in anxious ignorance any longer, my dear William,
or in the cruel uncertainty of suspence. Burton Pynsent : Oct. 1, 1795.
My dear Son, — I was not made particularly happy by find
ing last night in the Sun that you had had an extraordinary
washing in y"" retum, three or four days ago, from Dover to
Walmer. If it had been only a refreshing shower that you met
with I sh* have passed it over, but without being much
afraid I shall be a little glad to hear that gout takes no offence
at what has happened. We begin to thiuk here that we have
had quite rain enough, and to wish for a renewal of our fair
fine weather ; our sowing has gone on prosperously, and now
we begin to sigh for winds from the East.
It seems stout in me to wish for a change, but stout I am
enough, both in body and mind, very seriously to do it, that
our fleet may not be detained. Mrs. Stapleton and her eager
admirer of the works she had in charge are very regular over
seers of everything in hand, and if they were at home wo*
assure you of as much.

PITT S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 165
I am doing wrong in giving my letter more length than I
need, but I hate so much troubling you with anything that can
be called business that I don't like to come to it. Some
small time before y"" coming hither I rec* a pressing petition
from Mr. Dayrell, of LiUingstone, to recommend him to you
for conferring some Church preferment upon him. I thought
the best way of answering him was to say that I feared it w°*
be difficult, from the different engagements I know you had, for
me to succeed, but as I had a prospect of seeing you the speak
ing to you on the subject w°* be best. I chose doing this to
avoid the teasing you with writing about the business, and
never once did I think of it in the short course of y' stay.
No great wonder, sure, when my mind was filled with the happi
ness of having you, and enjoying the sweet pleasure of inter
esting discourse together. I will enclose his letter, and if you
will give me a line of what I shall answer it will be enough,
for I know you can only make your excuse. One thing more,
but it is a trivial thing, I must mention. Gill, the Postmaster
of Somerton (a very good kind of man), begged me to ask you
a favour for a brother, or friend, for I have forgot w'', who is
in some office of excise, or somethin,g of that sort. I think I did
name it to you, and that it was settled you w°* take the letter
containing the request and put it in your pocket. I am, how
ever, not absolutely assured of it. Tou wUl tell me one word
about it when you can. T'^ brother I find is still at Chevely,
and Lady Chatham has got the rheumatism in a very dis
agreeable way, as it affects her side, but he says at the same
time she is otherwise well and grows fat. Mr. Eliot and
darling girl, I have the satisfaction to learn, are both perfectly
well. I expect they will retum from Port Eliot the 23rd. I
am much afraid that Miss Townshend's time for leaving us is
fast approaching, which I truly am very sorry for, as she
certainly loves the society she is with. All that is great and all
that is good, my dear son, is the constant wish of
Tour ever affect, mother,
H. Chatham.
I have written to L"* Egremont on the Act of Pari*.
No answer yet.

166 PITT Burton Pynsent : Nov. 4, 1795.
My dear Son, — I could readily employ my pen in writing
you on the two very different subjects which have so lately
occurred and which are so differently affecting ; but it is totally
unnecessary to say how shocking the insult offered His Majesty
was to all here, and what the impression of delight was in Mr.
Eliot's account of the glorious majority in the H. of C, and
the praises so happily expressed by him on Mr. Pitt's speech.
Tou will imagine my feelings, and so I shall beg in the cause
that engages me to break in upon you now. . . .
I was wished by Mr. Mitchell to inform you of this circum
stance, which in the affair of what is of most consequence to him
is of no avail. It gives him a step which is so far, I suppose,
an advantage. I am pretty well, and the rest of the company quite so.
Not a word more, my dear, dear son. God Almighty bless
you.
H. Ch.
No answer is wanted to this. Burton Pynsent : April 25, 1796.
I do not from you, my d"" son, but I hear often of you in a
way that makes up to me in the best manner possible for your
silence. I cannot, however, help wishing that my pleasure was
increased by receiving now and then a few words from you, and
immediately comes almost a refiection that obliges me to unwish
it again, that I may not take up any part of the small leisure
you have to enjoy a little relaxation from your various calls. I
am sure you must be satisfied that I am not much disposed to
break in upon you, if it is not what I feel a sort of necessity for.
Without, therefore, more upon the subject I shall begin my
business. Tou will have rec* a letter from Mrs. Stapleton of a few
liues written at a late hour, when I was just got into bed, to
state my serious request to you, at the eamest petition of
Woodforde, that you w* have the goodness to appoint him
successor to Haviland, who indeed appears to be a man of the
basest and most ungrateful character that can exist. His attack
upon the Taunton Bank is universally condemned ; the circum-

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 167
stances ot the obligations to [ ? "] or money affairs to the
holders of it being so very great. Woodford's increased attend
ance upon me, which engrossed so much of his time that he
certainly suffered with his patients, makes me more interested
in his success.
I am quite [ ? ] with the class of gentlemen who were
so urgent for the appointment of Haviland, with all their fine
plans for breaking the monopoly made by Stuckey. I am afraid
you cannot enjoy the same pleasure from the fine weather that
everybody does here, since the beauties it produces will have
been hid in your rides by the clouds of dust like smoke you
must have been involved in.
Tou cannot imagine how charming Burton looks. I had the
satisfaction of a most agreeable letter last night from your brother,
in which he tells me that the money so politely claimed proves
to be no more than the ig244 div. from the original settlement
of poor dear James' fortune as a fifth. I was totally unconscious
of its not having been paid, as the account appeared settled
when retumed to me. I learn with great comfort my darling
little girl is well and very happy with her Aunt Chatham, and
succeeds very well for a lady of her years. Mrs. Stapleton is
abroad after her works, and if she were at home I should not be
desired to remind you of her letter, as she says you are agreed
upon the article of writing.
God bless you, my dear, dear son.
H. Ch.
I wish you would tell Mr. Smith about Cooling.
The foUowing letters of Pitt to his mother show the
warm and affectionate language he always used to
her. The first relates to the weU-known duel with
Tierney, which was fought on Sunday, May 27, 1798,
Pitt's second being Dudley Eyder (afterwards Lord
Harrowby) : Holwood : Monday, May 28, 1798.
My dear Mother, — Tou will be glad, I know, to hear from
myself on a subject in which I know how much you will feel

168 PITT
interested, and I am very happy that I have nothing to tell that
is not perfectly agreeable. The newspapers of to-day contain a
short but correct account of a meeting which I found it neces
sary to have with Mr. Tierney yesterday on Putney Heath, in
consequence of some words which I had used in the House of
Commons, and which I did not think it became me to retract or
explain. The business terminated without anything unpleasant
to either Party, and in a way which left me perfectly satisfied
both with myself and my antagonist, who behaved vrith great
propriety. Tou will, I know, hear from my brother on the
subject, but I could not be contented without sending these few
lines from myself. Ever, my dear mother,
Tour devoted and affectionate son,
W. Pitt.
Downing Street : Oct. 8, 1799.
I rejoice, my dear mother, in being able to add to the satis
factory account contained in the enclosed ' Gazette ' a letter to
you from my brother himself, written after the brilhant and
important day in which he has had a large share. I have a
short letter from the Duke of Tork, kindly informing me of my
brother's safety, and speaking in the most handsome terms of
his conduct. I sent it immediately to Lady Chatham at Eamsgate, but
will enclose it to you as soon as she returns it.
It will probably not be long before we hear of fresh
events, which I trust vnll be as favourable.
Ever, my dear mother.
Tour devoted and affectionate son,
W. Pitt.
(Enclosed in above.) Egmont : Oct. 4, Friday morning.
My dear Mother, — I have but a moment to write to you a
single line to say that I am perfectly well, and which I hope
will reach headquarters in. time to go with the Duke's despatches.
We succeeded in a general attack on the enemy on Wednesday,

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 169
and dislodged him from his position, and I moved in the course
of yesterday before this place to reinforce Sir E. Abercrombie,
but the enemy, on his approach, unmasked the place, and we
have marched in this morning. I have had great fatigue,
having passed the last two nights on the top of the sand hills
without any cover whatever, but I can assure you I am not in
the smallest degree the worse for it. I must refer you to the
' Gazette ' for everything else, and have only to add that I
remain, my dear mother,
Tour most dutiful and affectionate son, Chatham.
I was very happy at the receipt of your most kind letter,
which reached me a few days ago.
The following are the latest letters which I have
found from his mother to Pitt. She was so confident
of his patience and affection that she never hesi
tated to remind him again and again of her wishes on
behalf of those for whom she bespoke his patronage :
Burton Pynsent: Sept. 14, 1798.
I do not guess where you are, my dear son, but, however, I
mean to take my chance in writing to you, though I believe it
possible you may think you have had letters enough from
Burton since you left it. I cannot but say that for my pleasure
I s* be glad to hear of you, but at the same time I am very
reasonable about doing so. The occasion of your having this is
owing to my having received a request from Mrs. Watson that
I w* name to you her very humble petition in favour of one
of her grandsons, a youth of about fourteen. His father, Sir
Wm. Gibbon, would be happy indeed, and Mrs. Watson more
so than I can express. Now comes the thing : The misfortune
is that the object to be obtained is the youth's being made a
clerk in the Treasury. I feel how much I have teased you
already by my application for the two parties I named to you —
Woodford is one and Mr. Sandford the other— and now I am
to pray for the third. I cannot give up the first, Woodford, as

170 PITT
indeed, I am most extremely obliged to his father, and have
made him the happiest of men by letting him know I had
recommended his son to you. Toung Sandford I have not
mentioned, and think I may put it by at present. There is
one thing that I believe will facilitate your not finding any
difficulty about Woodford, which is, that it seems clear that it
is not imagined that the young Gibbon will be of sufficient age
to be brought forward till he is of the proper time of day for
such a post. I will enclose you Mrs. Watson's letter, which is
so modest, so grateful, and so tender for the sake of those for
whom she is so naturally interested, that I am inclined to
believe you will wish to add comfort to her. I have not lately
heard from Colchester, but, thank God, by their last letter
everything was well. I will not lengthen my letter but to say
that it is hoped that the Traveller arrived safe with the waggon
on this day se'enight from Burton.
I remain ever, my dear son,
T"^ most affectionate mother,
H. Ch.
Burton Pynsent : Nov. 3, 1798.
I have thought, my dear son, that vrith the continual success
which has attended 'our nice little island,' you have had full
enough business without adding to the trouble of it by writing
to you, especially as I had leamt that you had suffered by
allowing yourself too much exercise at Walmer.
I please myself with the belief that what I meet with in the
papers about your parties and dinners, etc., are tru'e, w'' relieve
very much my anxiety about the Pari*. I have not heard of
y"^ brother for some time, as between his military duties and
his shooting he was too much engaged. However, two or three
days ago brought a letter from Lady Chatham that they were
retumed in perfect health and spirits to Colchester, where I
find they mean to stay till the meeting. We have not learnt
here yet to forget the loss of your dear society. Burton is not
the same Burton as when you was with us. The retum of the
dear girl from Port Eliot has enlivened us a great deal, and we
have had the pleasure of Lady Fortescue and her daughter

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 171
Hester for some days. They left us Wednesday, to the no
small regret of those they left behind.
Now I cannot refuse myself repeating my petition to you,
which is really important to me on various accounts. It is that
yon wo* really have the goodness to appoint Woodforde's son
that I recommended to you when you was here. He is about
20 years old, a very promising young man, and quite genteel.
It wo* confer the greatest happiness on the father, to whom, as
I have mentioned before, I am truly obliged. I will not add
more to the length of this letter than to express to you my
increasing wishes and prayers for your perfect health and success
in all you desire. Ever, my dear son.
Tour most affect, mother,
H. Ch.
Mrs. Stapleton joins in every good wish.
Flint Castle. — The most stormy, dark, horrid day imaginable.
I hope it won't reach you.
Pitt must have had infinite patience and been a
long-suffering Prime Minister if he did not feel a little
worried by the task assigned to him in the foUowing
letter : Nov. 6, 1798.
Tou have so lately heard from me, my dear son, that I
should certainly not so soon have written again to you, but this
morning I had a visit from my protige, Carteret, who came to
take leave of me, as he had received the Duke of Tork's orders
that if he was in readiness to sail orders should be immediately
given for preparing a proper boat of conveyance to carry him to
join the Reg' at Gibraltar. Carteret himself believes the letter
he received was written by the Bulce himself. He has answered
it, but I am very doubtful about the propriety of it, and have
therefore thought for the sake of the young man that the best
step I could take for him was to petition you to have the good
ness to do what you know is rightest for him.
I enclose his letter to the Duke sealed as it is, but have
accompanied it with a copy, by which you will judge whether it

172 PITT
will be right to send it or not. The army agent may be the
person who has been employed to write, but the thing to know
is who it really comes from. This is all I can say about it,
except you vrill let me be informed of what is the state by any
of your business people. It is a late hour — 2.30. I will wish
you a good night. Bless you, my dear son. Hester Chatham.
Pitt was greatly attached to his eldest brother,^
thought well of his capacity, and was always anxious to
give him such employment as he thought would be
agreeable to him and at the same time not disadvan
tageous to the pubhc service.
Lord Chatham was an officer in the army, of much
ability and of exceUent intentions. The first employ
ment he received from his brother was that of First
Lord of the Admiralty — an office in which he does not
appear to have been always prudent. From his dilatory
habits he was called ' the late Lord Chatham,' and from
a letter of the Duke of Eichmond,^ pubhshed by Lord
Stanhope, it would appear that five years after his ap
pointment he had never spoken in the House of Lords.
It is to be inferred from the correspondence that
Pitt was reluctantly forced to the conclusion in the
month of November 1794 that it would be desirable to
change his brother from the Admiralty to another office.
^ Born September 10, 1756 ; entered the Army, 1778 ; was First Lord
of the Admiralty, 1788 to December 1794 ; Privy Seal, December 1794 ;
Lord President of the Council, 1796-1801 ; Master-General of Ordnance,
1801-6 ; he commanded the disastrous Walcheren expedition ; married a
daughter of Lord Sydney ; died 1835.
^ Lord Eldon gave it as his deliberate opinion that Lord Chatham
was ' the ablest man he ever knew in the Cabinet ' (Private Papers of
WilUam Wilberforce, 1897, p. 136). This appears quite extravagant,
unless Lord Eldon was a poor observer or was disposed to underrate
his other coUeagues. Wraxall says his manners ' forbid approach.'

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 173
From the tone of the letters it may be assumed that
Lord Chatham was not at the time a satisfactory head
of the department ; but it may, I think, also be gathered
from a knowledge of the then position of the recent
coalition of Portland and his friends that Lord Spencer
was quite available to fiU a vacancy at the Admiralty.
Nothing could be more difficult or distasteful than Pitt's
task, and yet he managed with extraordinary skiU to
combine affection and firmness in his letters to his
brother. Lord Chatham's letters were also marked by
great affection, but it was manifest that he struggled
to retain the Prime Minister's good opinion as to his
administration :
My dear Brother, — I do not write to you till after a very
painful struggle in my own mind, and it is under a full
persuasion that what I have to say is absolutely required from
me under the present circumstances, both by duty and pressing
necessity. After the full explanation passed between us some
time since, I had really flattered myself that there was an end of
the distressing embarrassment which we had experienced, and
that no further difficulty of the same sort would occur again.
But I cannot disguise from you that from various circumstances
(which I see no good in dwelling upon), and especially from what
passed at the Cabinet yesterday, I foresee too evidently the
renewal of that embarrassment and the utter impossibility that
business should permanently go on between you and those with
whom in your present depaiiiment you must have continual
intercourse with that cordiality and complete mutual confidence
which at the present moment is indispensable. If public
considerations alone were in question they ought to decide my
opinion ; but on more personal grounds I really believe that
for your ultimate credit and happiness, as well as my own,
anything is preferable to a state in which the inconvenience
to the Service cannot be greater than the vexation to our
selves.

174 PITT
In this opinion I believe you will agree with me, and I
therefore trust that you will think that I consult my affection
to you as much as what I owe to the other considerations in
telling you fairly, though reluctantly, my perfect conviction that
the time is come when it will be the best for us both, as well
as for the public service, if you will exchange your present
situation for one of a different description. . . . The situation
of President of the Council or of Privy Seal (according as Lord
Stafford may take or decline the former) is still open. If you
are willing to take either of them, I have no doubt that the
King's kindness to us both will make him approve it, and to the
King it would be necessary to explain that some unfortunate
misunderstanding made us propose it as best for his service.
ToUiwill easily see that the time presses, and will not wonder
that, having formed this opinion in full reflection, I do not for a
moment withhold it from you. I have preferred telling it you
by letter to a conversation, which must be unnecessarily
distressing to us both, and to which I really do not feel myself
equal. Always affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
[No date, but must be December 1, 1794.J
The letter was the decision of a Prime Minister,
conveyed with the love of a brother. Chatham replied
at once :
Admiralty: Dec. 1, 1794.
My dear Brother, — Tou certainly have judged right in
thinking that in every point of view your letter must come
most unexpectedly upon me, and I really hardly know what to
think or what to say. In time of peace, whatever preference I
might have had between one office and another, and which per
haps might not have been great, I should most certainly have
been guided by any accommodation that could be afforded to the
general objects of Government. But I must confess that the
same objections as last year, and more particularly the same
moment being taken — ^the eve ofthe meeting of Parliament — give

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 175
me the impression that I would not quit at this moment without
being subjected to great misconstruction. Tou will, I am sure,
recollect that I undertook the situation I am in by your desire
and advice, and that I have sacrificed to it every other consider
ation, and I am not conscious, in the discharge of it, of having
failed in my duty to the public, and less in anything towards
you. As no particular ill success, beyond the common and neces
sary accidents of war, have attended us, I am sure there must
be something more than you have yet liked to mention which
must have occasioned your letter, and I shall of course be
most impatient to see you as soon as it may be convenient to
you, as I cannot but feel great anxiety on an occasion which in
volves in it every consideration that ought to be most dear to me.
I am, my dear brother, yours very affectionately,
Chatham.
If you let me know when you come to town, I will either
call upon you or shall be glad to see you here, as you please.
Pitt's answer argued the point firmly and kindly :
Downing Street : Tuesday, Dec. 2nd, 1794, ^ past 12.
My dear Brother, — It gives me more pain than I can express
to decline a conversation with you on any subject on which you
wish it, but it would be still more painful to enter upon it on
such an occasion, and I really can see no possibility that explana
tion or discussion can be of any advantage.
I hoped I had said enough in my former letter to show you
that my opinion was formed (however reluctantly) on grounds
which will not admit of its being changed ; and I cannot, in
times like these, acquit myself to my own mind if I do not
ultimately act on that opinion, even with the sacrifice, if neces
sary, of the personal considerations which are nearest my heart.
Tou are really mistaken if you suppose that I have any one
particular circumstance to state which has been the immediate
cause of these ideas being now brought forward.
They are the result of much anxious reflection, and if they
are become more urgent at this particular time it is because I

176 PITT
consider the general situation of affairs is one in which it is
more than ever indispensable to omit nothing that can tend to
put every branch of the Government on the footing most likely
to carry us thro' our difficulties. The circumstance of Parliament
being to meet within a month does not seem to me to produce
any difficulty, when it is considered that if such a change is to
take place at all during the war the close of a campaign is
certainly the period when it wUl be attended with the least
inconvenience. Nor do I see any reason why your acceding to
the arrangement should be liable to any misconstruction, or why
it should be supposed to take place on any other ground but
that of suiting the convenience or inclination of the persons who
are concerned in it. The successful exertions which have been
made, and the general state in which you would leave our naval
force, are circumstances which, as I mentioned to you before,
seem to me to give additional facility to the measure, because
they are the most convincing proofs of the manner in which you
have provided for the most essential objects of the service. At
the same time, neither these circumstances (however creditable),
nor the conviction of the attention which you have given to the
business of the Admiralty, and the compleat knowledge which
you have acquired of it, can overbalance the considerations which
I have already stated to you, or in any degree alter the opinion
which I have been obliged to confess. Whether you think me
right or wrong in the opinion, you will, I am sure, give me
credit for the sincerity of it, and you will, I am also sure, be
sensible that if I do sincerely entertain it I should not do my
duty to you or to the public or to myself if I yielded even to
your vrishes or to any private feelings of my own. In one word,
I ought not to remain in my present situation, under all the
present circumstances, if I were disposed to shrink from any
part of my duty, however painful. I can only entreat you, for
both our sakes, to make it in this instance as little painful as
possible by reconciling your mind to what I have proposed, and
to save me from the extremity of feeling that I act against your
wishes when I yield to the necessity of the public service.
Very affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 177
Chatham was plainly very anxious for a personal
interview, and in his reply of the same day he urged :
' I hope I am not unreasonable in earnestly desiring to
see you in the course of the day, when you recoUect
that to-morrow I must meet my colleagues in office,
and I must attend the King. And you will, I think,
see that without something further passing between us
I must stand in a very perplexing situation.'
Pitt yielded to the request for an interview, pointing
out, however, that nothing could change his opinion.
He sent a short note the next day, in which he said :
' It is too late for conversation this evening, but I will
call upon you soon after twelve to-morrow, unless you
prefer any other hour. I trust your decision will have
been such as to relieve me from the most anxious of all
situations. My own opinion remains and must remain
the same.' Admiralty : Dec. 4, 1794.
My dear Brother, — I have had a variety of things to do, nor
have I been able to compose myself sufficiently to make up my
mind. But what makes me wish to write you these few lines is
that I am aware in our conversations I have said nothing of my
personal feelings towards you, which, I can assure you, arose
only from flnding myself unequal to doing it, as the recollection
of the affection which has uninterruptedly subsisted between us
from our earliest days makes me feel the present circumstances
doubly painful to what would have been the case if our con
nexion, of however old a date, had been purely poUtical. I will
only add that, whatever may be my fate in life, I shall sincerely
wish for your honor and prosperity. Believe me, very affectly yrs.,
Chatham.

N

178 PITT
Chatham the next morning wrote a further letter
rather receding from his request for an interview, but
expressing fears that his resignation might be inter
preted to his discredit. Pitt closed the correspondence
with the foUowing considerate letter :
Downing Street : Friday, Dec. 5, 1794.
My dear Brother, — Tho' I can add nothing to the statements
which I have already expressed, I wish to assure you that the
painful reflection described in your last letter has never been
absent from my mind during any part of what has passed ; but
my great consolation has been, and is, the persuasion that in
going thro' this severe trial I am, persuaded that I am really
consulting my personal affection to you as much as every other
motive by which I must be guided. Trs. very affectly, W. Prrr.
The matter was adjusted by Chatham becoming
Privy Seal, and subsequently Lord President of the
Council. The relations between the two brothers
remained on the most affectionate and harmonious
basis. Pitt has been accused of being unduly anxious
to give his brother important pubhc offices, but this
correspondence is valuable as showing how resolutely
he could subordinate aU such feelings to his sense of
public duty. It is much to his honour, and shows the
lofty independence of his mind. Although aU the
particulars of Lord Chatham's retiring from the Ad
miralty were not known at the time, it may be inferred
from a paragraph in one of Lord FitzwiUiam's letters to
Lord Carlisle that something was, at aU events, suspected
on the subject.^
1 Fitzwilliam to Carlisle, March 23, 1795 (Hist. MSS, Com,, Lord

PITT'S MOTHER AND ELDEST BROTHER 179
The embarrassment of Pitt's finances has often been
criticised, and an explanation been asked how a bachelor,
leading a most regular life, with no expensive tastes,
and in receipt of 10,000/. a year during the later
years of his Administration, should have often been
in difficulties. His friends had to come to his rescue
when he resigned office in 1801, and ParUament voted
40,000/. to pay his debts on his death.
It is just possible that he may from time to time
have assisted his brother with money, and thus helped
to add to his own difficulties.
The following document amongst the 'Pretyman
MSS.' is suggestive : Hyde Park Corner : August 18, 1797.
Received from the Rt. Honble. William Pitt the sum of
IjOOOZ., payable immediately after the 5th Janry., 1798.
Chatham.
However this may be, there can be no doubt of the
attachment between the brothers. Pitt arranged that
the Garter which he would not take himself should be
given to his brother, and he associated him with his
friend, the Bishop, in the management of his affairs —
almost his last act on his death-bed.
Ca/rUsle's Papers) : ' Has there been no removal of his own friends at the
Admiralty ? Or did Lord Spencer, on his succeeding Lord Chatham,
act inconsistently with the spirit of the Union when he reqmred such
changes and the constitution of such a Board as, judging for himself,
should command his confidence ? '

N 2

180 PITT

CHAPTEE VI
LORD FITZWILLIAM
Pitt's attitude towards Viceroyalty of Lord Fitzwilliam — Criticism at
time — More acute now — Junction of Portland and his friends — ^Believed
that Portland was to have control of Irish affisiirs — Rumour about
Viceroyalty — Fitzwilliam appointed — His foolish conduct — Pitt
alarmed — Views of Dundas — Of Lord Grenville — Pitt insisted on
clear understanding as to FitzwiUiam's powers — His memorandum — ¦
' The Pelham Papers ' — Full memorandum of what occurred at meeting
before Fitzwilliam went to Ireland — ^The Ponsonbys — -O'Beime —
Portland's previous clearance of officials — The Ponsonbys a controlUng
force — Grattan — FitzwiUiam's character and good intentions — ^En
couraged wild hopes — Nothing to show he had mastered questions —
Not suited for troubled time— The Cathohc question — Grattan moves
with approval of Fitzwilliam — Against his instructions — His conduct
in reference to of&ces and places — Beresfords to be pulled down —
And Ponsonbys raised up — Lord Auckland's accoimt of understanding
of position — ^Dismissal of Beresford — Offered pension equal to his
salary — Appeals to Pitt — Fitzgibbon on Grattan's Bill — Conveys his
opinion on coronation oath to King — View of the Cabinet on Grattan's
BiU— CathoUc Committee, 1792 — Relief Act, 1793— Portland writes
disapproval to Fitzwilliam — Pitt's letter to Fitzwilliam — His reply —
His recaU — Debated at time in Parliament and press — FitzwiUiam's
letter to King — King's to Pitt — FitzwiUiam's correspondence with
CarUsle — Loughborough's opinion — 'Explanation' drawn up by
Loughborough, Burke, Grattan, and FitzwiUiam — Before FitzwiUiam
went to Ireland — FitzwiUiam's charges against Beresford — Beresford
challenges him — Interrupted duel — Apology of FitzwiUiam — His
hasty action about of&ces — Law ofBcers — O'Beime made a bishop —
Swift and Kirwan — FitzwiUiam's responsibiUty — ^Verdict of his own
firiends — Results of recaU — The real injury — Its limits — Extreme men
not affecl^ed — Wolfe Tone — Secret Committee — Plans of invasion—
' Smothered war ' — EebeUion— CornwaUis.
Possibly there is no part of Pitt's Ante-Union policy in
Ireland more criticised, particularly in recent times.

>/A/

¦'// '.y./tiu^lL-u,

LORD FITZWILLIAM 181
than his attitude towards the Viceroyalty of Lord
FitzwiUiam. Some obvious questions must be con
sidered before any fair decision can be arrived at.
What led to Lord FitzwiUiam's appointment ? What
caused his speedy recall? Who is to blame for his
failure ? What was its effect on Ireland ?
At and immediately after its date, the matter excited
much attention and much difference of opinion. In
more recent times it has, if possible, attracted increased
attention, and a more acute difference of opinion. Mr.
Lecky, Mr. Gladstone and Lord Eosebery have aU
written upon the subject. How did this short Vice-
royalty find such a controversial place in Irish history?
In July 1794 the Duke of Portland ^ and some of his
leading friends, including Lord Spencer and Windham,
joined Pitt's Government ^ — the period being one when,
owing to the state of affairs in France and on the
Continent, Great Britain required the support of all her
• WUUam Henry Cavendish Bentinck, third Duke of Portland, bom
1738 ; succeeded 1762 ; appointed, 1765, Lord Chamberlain ; 1782, Lord-
Lieutenant of Ireland ; 1783, First Lord of the Treasury ; 1794, Secretary
of State, to 1801 ; 1801, Lord President of the Council tiU 1805 ; 1807,
First Lord of the Treasury. Married Lady Dorothy Cavendish, daughter
of WiUiam, fourth Duke of Devonshire, 1766; died 1809.
^ There had been much earUer negotiations for this coaUtion. In
1792 Burke was negotiating vidth Pitt for the accession of the Duke of
Portland and his friends, and, in speaking of terms of adjustment vrith
Prance, Pitt observed they ought to be founded on the basis of indemnity
for the past and security for the fiiture. On this Burke, who had no reUsh
for such an arrangement, drew himself up and pompously said, ' Sir, I am
authorised by the Duke of Portland to state that he abhors indemnity
and detests security! ' (Sidmouth's Life, i. 89, by PeUew). FitzwiUiam
was mixed up with these negotiations of 1792, and showed a strong and
narrow prejudice against Sheridan, saying he might have a lucrative
office, but never shoidd be admitted to one of confidence (Mahnesbv/ry
Diary and Correspondence, ii. 465).

182 PITT
sons. The Duke of Portland had been a Prime Minister
and a Viceroy of Ireland. The place he now took was
that of Secretary of State, the department speciaUy in
touch with the Irish Executive.
It was believed that Portland was to have much
voice in Irish affairs. It was said that Ireland was
given away to him, and this was probably at first his
own view and that of his friends. There was much
delay about displacing the Viceroy, Lord Westmoreland.
Many weeks elapsed without anything being done.
Eumour was busy with the names of Lord Spencer, the
Duke of Devonshire, and Lord FitzwiUiam,^ aU of whom
were said to have refused the office. In September
the office was reported to have been accepted by
FitzwiUiam, but before the end of the foUowing month,
rumour hinted that Lord Spencer might be the Viceroy,
with GrenviUe as Chief Secretary. Then in November a
fresh story came to Ireland that Lord Westmoreland
was to stay for the Session, and be succeeded by Fitz
wiUiam, with fuU powers.
But FitzwiUiam had been actuaUy selected for and
accepted the place, possibly as early as the first rumour,
and aU the facts indicate that he liked its importance
and responsibility. He proclaimed it on the house-tops.
Lord Eosebery^ says: 'The news of his approaching
' Born 1748, died 1883 ; married (1) a daughter of Lord Bessborough,
and (2) a daughter of Lord Ponsonby. The Whigs, in their Regency
arrangements of 1788, intended to make FitzwUliam their Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland. He was nephew and heir of Lord Eockingham, and was
intended by Fox to be President of his new India Board in 1783. In
1812 he refused the Garter, but in 1798 he was appointed Lord-Lieutenant
of Yorkshire. He was dismissed fi:om his post in 1819 for his language
at a meeting to censure magistrates for the Peterloo Massacre.
- Pitt, p. 172, by Lord Eosebery.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 183
Viceroyalty became common property in Ireland. This
premature revelation of an appointment in contempla
tion, but not actually settled, was the first of Fitz
wiUiam's disastrous indiscretions. It gave a mortal
blow to whatever reputation for prudence he may have
possessed, and led directly to the unhappy catastrophe
which foUowed.'
When all this foUy reached the ears of Pitt, he felt
anxious and uneasy about the appointment of the new
Viceroy, and half formed the resolution of recaUing it.
His mistake possibly was in not boldly undoing the
blunder when he realised the turmoil that FitzwiUiam
caused, but it would have lost the Duke of Portland and
his friends, and the crisis was not one to permit the
withdrawal of any support. So, hoping against hope,
he said that FitzwiUiam must at aU events be bound by
some clear understanding.
Even that nearly cost Pitt his new allies, but Pitt
would not give way, and he was the strong man and
would not Usten to new systems, or proscriptions of old
friends, or giving any man, much less Fitzwilliam, a free
hand on great and delicate points of policy. The
situation gave intense dissatisfaction to Dundas and
Pitt's older colleagues. Dundas on October 13, 1794,
wrote the following letter ^ to Pitt :
My dear Sir, — I have seldom in my lifetime been more
astonished than by the receipt of your letter this moming — I
mean that part of it respecting Ireland. They may put what
gloss upon it they please, but if it does come to an extremity
they never can make a case that will not damn them as public
men for ever, and the whole gives me so bad an impression of
' Pretyman MSS,

184 PITT
them that, barring the awkwardness of the moment, I know not
if you are not better without them. It is perfectly clear that
you cannot give way without bringing yourself down in your
situation in a maimer not to be conceived. I would rather give
them the Government altogether than to be so swindled. Tour
not acceding to their ideas about Ireland may be a reason, if
you please, for Lord FitzwilUam going there, but how is that to
justify their embarrassing Govemment at the present moment by
resignations, &c., and that, too, after their friends have been
loaded with honours and favours which cannot be recalled or
resigned ?
It is abominable swindling, of which the Old Baillie provides
no example. Have they forgot that Ireland was going on in
supporting the general cause of mankind, postponing for the
present all local or subordinate considerations ?
If therefore any confusion arises in Ireland in consequence
of a breach with them, it is a confusion of their creating, and
originating in the inauspicious union formed with them. . . .
Tours ever sincerely, H. Dundas.
Dundas by no means stood alone in his views. Lord
GrenviUe, on October 15, writing to Thomas GrenviUe,
discussed all the dangers of FitzwiUiam's appointment,
and on October 24, wrote : ^ ' Has Lord FitzwiUiam stiU
kept himself sufficiently open with respect to his en
gagements with Grattan and the Ponsonbys as to be
able to undertake the Irish Government with honour
and satisfaction to himself, without displacing the old
tenants of Government to make room for their opponents,
and without giving to the Ponsonbys in particular more
influence and power than belongs to their situation as
one among several of the great connections in that
country ? If not, there seems no hope of any perma-
' Buckingham's Courts and Cabinets of George III.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 185
nent agreement on this subject, even if it were so
patched up for the present as that he could go to Ire
land.' Pitt did not yield to any intemperate counsels, but
he asserted his views and was very determined that
there should be no room left for misunderstanding. He
would not leave ' the supporters of the Government
exposed to the risk of a new system ' ; he would not
tolerate the idea of any ' new system ' whatever. The
matters were far too important to be left in doubt. If
FitzwiUiam was to go to Ireland, it could only be on a
clear understanding, which no one could deny, forget,
or misunderstand. A formal meeting was held by Pitt and Portland,
Spencer, FitzwiUiam, GrenviUe, and Windham ; and it
was distinctly agreed that there was to be no new system
of men or measures ; that the new Viceroy should pre
vent, as far as he could, during the present Session, any
agitation of the CathoUc question ; that he should refer
that and aU other important measures, with his opinion,
to the Cabinet ; and that he should do nothing in such
matters to commit the Government without instruc
tions.^ This would have bound most men. To a man who
knew anything of public life, this clear understanding
with his colleagues would have been sacred. If he felt
that, from his past acts and his strong convictions, he
could not comply with the formulated understanding,
he should say so and resign ; but if he accepted and
' A very clear memorandum stating these points was found among
Pitt's papers (Pretyman MSS, ; Stanhope's Life of Pitt, vol. ii.).

186 PITT
assented, it would be hard to defend his subsequent non
compliance. Fitzwilliam, however, knew little of pub
Uc or official life : he foolishly accepted a compact
which his own previous acts had made it almost impos
sible for him to fulfil. Another man might : but it
required another man. FitzwiUiam could not, and he
should have recognised the fact. He, however, retained
his nomination — unfortunately for himself, unfortu
nately for Ireland, and most unfortunately for the
friendly relations between the two countries.
In the month of March, 1795, the Ministers present
at these meetings agreed to a minute ^ embodying what
passed on these occasions, and that most important
document is now ^ in the British Museum, amongst the
' This is manifest from the foUowing letters in the Pelham Papers at
the British Museum (vol. xxxiU. 101, fol. 163) : —
' Lord Grenville to Bight Hon. Mr. Pelham.
' Downing Street, March 28, 1795.
' Dear Sir, — You wiU not, I am sure, be surprised that I have not been
able sooner to keep my promise of sending you the memorandum of
which we talked. I now forward it by this messenger to Lord Camden,
who wiU send it on to you. It has been communicated to aU the persons
here who were present at the conversations in question, and they entirely
concur in the statement. I much fear, from the account which your
letters contain of Lord FitzwiUiam's present state of mind, there wiU be
no possibUity of avoiding pubUc discussion of some of the points ; but I
am sure such a necessity, if it should exist, ought not to be created by us.
' Yours most sincerely, ' Grenville.'
Sams danj — ' Duke of Portland to Pelham.
' When I arrived at a meeting this moming at Lord GrenviUe's, for
the purpose of finaUy settling the minute of the conversations which
passed at Mr. Pitt's some time previous to Lord FitzwUUam's departure
respecting measures and arrangements relative to Ireland, a copy of
which I transmit you herewith, I found Mr. Pitt and Mr. W. fuU of
apprehension and gloom  '
" Pelham Papers in British Museum (Additional MSS. 3118,
fol. 268). It is quoted in part by Mr. Lecky (vii. 86).

LORD FITZWILLIAM 187
'Pelham Papers.' It is not signed, and it is headed
' Memorandum, March 1795.' Its most important parts
are as foUows : Memoraitdum. March 1795.
When the union of the persons who are joined in the pre
sent Govemment was formed in July last, the office of Lord-
Lieutenant of Ireland was destined to Lord Fitzwilliam as soon
as it should be found practicable to open a proper situation for
Lord Westmoreland in England. Before the means of making
such an arrangement were found, the intention of appointing
Lord FitzwiUiam as the successor to Lord Westmoreland became
known in Ireland; the appointment was talked of as immediate,
and it was reported that a complete change in the system of
Irish Government, both as to men and measures, was intended.
Some explanations having taken place on these points in the
course of the autumn, it appeared that Lord Fitzwilliam had, in
fact, formed the intention of removing Lord Fitzgibbon from
the office of Lord Chancellor, and a variety of other circum
stances appeared to some of his colleagues to give too much
countenance to the apprehensions of an intended change of
system in Ireland. The removal of Lord Fitzgibbon was
objected to on their part as being inconsistent with the prin
ciples on which the business had been formed here; and the
same principle was stated by them as applying to the removal
of the old servants of the Govemment, and to any other measure
which would have the appearance either of introducing a new
system or of casting imputations on the conduct of former
Governments in Ireland.
It appears that Lord Fitzwilliam conceives himself to have
stated to Mr. Pitt, in their first conversations on the subject of
Ireland, that he was apprehensive Mr. Beresford should be
removed, and that Mr. Pitt made no objection in reply to this.
Mr. Pitt has no recollections of anything having been said to
him which conveyed to his mind the impression that Mr. Beres
ford's removal from his office was intended.
After much discussion on the subject of Lord Fitzgibbon's
removal, the idea was renounced, and the most explicit assur-

188 PITT
ances were given by Lord Fitzwilliam that he had not in view
the estabhshment of any new system in Ireland, but that he
was desirous of strengthening his Government by the accession
of Mr. Ponsonby and his friends, and the support of Mr.
Grattan 
It was agreed that a meeting should be held at Mr. Pitt's
at which all the other points that had occurred respecting
Ireland should be discussed. . . . This meeting was accord
ingly held at Mr. Pitt's in the [blank]. There were present
the Duke of Portland, Lord Fitzwilliam, Lord Spencer, Lord
Grenville, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Windham. The points which were
discussed at this meeting, and the conclusions adopted respecting
them, were as follows : —
1. (As to the appointment of Provost.)
2. Mr. William Ponsonby was proposed by Lord Fitzwilliam
as Secretary of State ; but ' it was proposed to him that Mr. Pon
sonby might be made Keeper of the Signet, and the office of
Secretary of State be annexed to that of Chief Secretary, and
this arrangement was, after much difficulty and discussion,
agreed to by Lord Fitzwilliam.'
3. Lord Fitzwilliam proposed that Mr. G. Ponsonby should
be made Attorney-General. To this the strongest objections
were stated. The situation and merits of Mr. Wolfe; the
natural claims of Mr. Toler, the Solicitor-General ; and the
impropriety of bringing Mr. G. Ponsonby at once into the office
of Attorney-General — a measure which, when coupled with the
appointment of Mr. W. Ponsonby, would, it was said, counten
ance the opinion of a change of system in Ireland. . . . No
idea was intimated by Lord Fitzwilliam of removing Mr. Wolfe
against his inclinations. . . It was at last agreed (after much
discussion about Mr. Toler) that Lord Fitzwilliam should en
deavour in the first instance to make a satisfactory arrangement
for Mr. Toler, in order that Mr. G. Ponsonby might be made
Solicitor- General under Mr. Wolfe. There was some discussion
respecting the nature of the arrangement to be proposed to Mr.
Toler, and it was distinctly expressed and agreed to by Lord
Fitzwilliam that the just claims of Mr. Toler were to be satisfied.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 189
taking them on the grounds of his situation such as it stood
with Lord Westmoreland, so that he should not be called upon
to accede to any proposal to which there should not be just
reason to believe that he would have acceded had Lord West
moreland continued to hold the Govemment, but that, on the
other hand, Mr. Toler would not be countenanced in refusing a
reasonable offer.
4. ' None of the persons present at this conversation recollect
any mention to have been made of Mr. Curran; nor was it
known to some of them that Lord Fitzwilliam had ever thought
of proposing that gentleman for Solicitor-General till after
Lord FitzwiUiam's arrival in Ireland.'
5. Abolition of additional offices in the Eevenue Boards.
The matter was to stand over until Lord Fitzwilliam could
investigate the gentlemen in Ireland. 'His colleagues would
willingly leave it to him to consider the subject on such infor
mation as he might receive respecting it in Ireland, desiring
only that before any such measure was adopted they might have
the opportunity of deliberating upon it.'
Nothing was intimated in this conversation of any idea of
removing Mr. Beresford, nor was even his name mentioned by
Lord Fitzwilliam, although the different means which might be
adopted for lessening the number of the Commissioners of the
Revenue Boards formed a part of what he stated on the subject
of those Boards.
The appointment of a Primate, respecting which there was
no difference of opinion, and some other subjects of less import
ance, having been also mentioned, the conversation turned to
the course to be pursued respecting the public measures, on
which it was understood that on all important subjects Lord
Fitzwilliam should transmit all the information he could collect,
with his opinion, to the King's servants here, and that he should
do nothing to commit the King's Government in such cases
without fresh instructions from hence. It is also distinctly
recollected by some of the persons present that the Catholic
question was particularly mentioned, though not discussed at
much length, that no decided sentiment was expressed by any-

190 PITT
one as to the line which it might be right ultimately to adopt,
but that the same general principles before stated were con
sidered as applying to this, as well as to other questions of
importance, and that a strong opinion was stated that Lord
Fitzwilliam should, if possible, prevent the agitation of the
question at all during the present Session.
At the close of the conversation. Lord Fitzwilliam, who had
brought to the meeting a memorandum of the matters to be
talked of, was repeatedly asked whether there were any other
points to be discussed, or any new measures to be proposed.
The answer was that he knew of none.
Lord Fitzwilliam went immediately into the country, and in
a very short time after his return he set out for Ireland. What
has passed since that period between him and the King's
servants is to be found in the Correspondence.
It is impossible to conceive a document of more im
portance, of higher authority. It throws a flood of
light upon the whole FitzwiUiam episode, and brings
into great prominence his rashness and imprudence, and
shows how impossible it was for his coUeagues to rely
upon him or to bind him to any engagements.
The Duke of Portland had been Viceroy of Ireland
in 1782, and had then graduated in Irish poUtics. He
theu brought with him, as private secretary, the Eev.
Thomas Lewis O'Beirne,^ formerly a Eoman Catholic
priest, and subsequently a Protestant clergyman, and
made the acquaintance of the Ponsonbys^ — a very power-
' Consecrated Bishop of Ossory 1795 ; translated to Meath 1798 •
died 1823.
' There were three Ponsonbys : (1) The father, the Eight Hon. John
Ponsonby, second son of the first Earl of Bessborough; bom 1713;
married, 1743, Lady EUzabeth Cavendish, second daughter of the third
Duke of Devonshure ; M.P. for Newtown and for the County of KiUjenny
for a long series of Parhaments ; elected Speaker 1756 ; resigned 1771 ;
appouated Secretary to the Eevenue Board 1742 ; succeeded his father

LORD FITZWILLIAM 191
ful family, very ambitious, very clever, thoroughly
familiar with Irish Statecraft. George Ponsonby, then
a young man of promise and ability, a member of the
bar, was much in the Viceroy's confidence, and he and
O'Beirne were consulted on aU important subjects.
The Duke of Portland, when Viceroy, made a large
clearance of officials who had been acting under his
predecessor, Lord Carlisle. He dismissed the two Law
Officers, the Prime Sergeant, the Counsel to the Com
missioners of Eevenue, and one of the Under Secretaries.
George Ponsonby, then not three years at the Bar, was
made Counsel to the Board of Eevenue, of which his
father was Commissioner. The Duke of Portland, after
he joined Pitt in 1794, summoned George Ponsonby to
London to take part in the discussions on the Irish
situation and the Irish appointments.
From the beginning to the end of the Viceroyalty
of FitzwiUiam, the Ponsonbys were a controlling force.
The new Viceroy had no official experience, having
only held the office of Lord President for a few weeks,
and his Chief Secretary, Lord Milton,^ never before and
as Commissioner 1744 ; died 1787. (2) His eldest son, the Right Hon.
Wm. B. Ponsonby, M.P. for Cork City, Bandon Bridge, and Kilkenny,
1768-1806; created, 1806, Baron Ponsonby; died same year. (3) His
second son, the Bight Hon. George Ponsonby ; caUed to the Bar 1780 ;
Counsel to the Board of Revenue 1782 ; M.P. Wicklow, Inistiogue and
Galway in different Parhaments before Union ; M.P. after Union for
Wicklow, Tavistock, and Peterborough ; appointed, 1806, Lord ChamceUor
of Ireland ; died 1817. His daughter Charlotte married the Right Hon.
Denis Bowes Daly, M.P. for Galway and King's County before the
Union. The first wife of FitzwilUam was daughter of the second Earl
of Bessborough, while his second wife was also a Ponsonby, daughter of
Lord Ponsonby.
1 Eldest son of the Earl of Dorchester ; born 1745 ; M.P. for Dor
chester 1780-4-90, for MUton 1798 ; died 1808.

192 PITT
never after held office, and had no knowledge of Irish
affairs. Acting possibly on the Duke of Portland's
advice, he brought over O'Beirne as his private secre
tary. Thus, Lord Fitzwilliam would naturaUy look to
George Ponsonby — a very able and experienced mem
ber of the House of Commons, a near relation of Lady
FitzwilUam — and also to O'Beirne, who had previous
experience — for advice and guidance, each being ac
credited and vouched for by his friend and coUeague,
the Duke of Portland. There were many things that
in the mind of Ponsonby required change. When the
Duke of Portland left Ireland in 1783, John Ponsonby,
the father, was a Commissioner of the Eevenue, and
George was Counsel to the Board. His father, how
ever, died in 1787, and he himself had been dismissed
and replaced by Marcus Beresford. Thus, on the
accession of Lord FitzwiUiam the Beresfords occupied
very much the position the Ponsonbys had held when
the Duke of Portland left Ireland.
Grattan was also a kind of Minister without a port
folio, a general adviser without office ; but possibly, on
questions of patronage, Ponsonby and O'Beirne did not
desire much interference.
Lord FitzwiUiam was a man ofthe highest character ;
possibly not of much ability, or a good judge of men.
In ability, shrewdness, knowledge of men and afiairs, he
was a child beside George Ponsonby. He was fuU of
good intentions — particularly the good intention of
showing that he had better intentions than his prede
cessors. He encouraged aU kinds of wild hopes and
extravagant expectations after he was selected, but

LORD FITZWILLIAM 193
before he took office, by proclaiming that he came as a
new broom to make a clean sweep — to get rid of the
' old lot ' ; a man with a new system, and ready to do
what he could for the Catholics. The Duke of Port
land had tried ' the clean sweep ' system in 1782 : why
should not he in 1795 ?
There is nothing to show that he had studied or
made himself acquainted with Irish history or Irish
affairs. He was certainly connected with the country
by a great property in the county Wicklow, and he was
a great nobleman with honest thoughts ; but there is
nothing to show that he had studied the Irish question,
or had mastered its difficulties, or was clearly acquainted
with the position of the Catholics, the Acts graduaUy
passed in their favour, or the great amelioration in their
position which occurred under the very recent measure
of 1793. There is nothing to show that hewas im
pressed with the dangerous position of Ireland at the
time, the aims and objects of the United Irishmen, the
avowed intentions and projects of an invasion held by
many, or that he realised the tremendously critical
position in which England was placed at the time he
became Viceroy, with a revolutionary France and an
excited Europe. There is nothing to show that when,
by replies and letters and statements, he excited vague
and uncertain hopes and expectations in Ireland, he
ever gave a thought as to how all this might affect his
coUeagues, or their policy, or their power. There, in
fine, is nothing to show that he gave much thought to
his colleagues at aU, or of any duty or engagement to
them. He was a very upright, honourable, weU-inten- 0

194 PITT
tioned, vain, rash and headstrong man, of moderate
capacity, without any of the reticence, tact, or caution,
which his position as the Viceroy of a troubled country
in a troubled time so much required.
FitzwiUiam treated his instructions and engagements
with small concern, as a something, may be, to be got
rid of, but that was not to bar his progress. His
instructions about the CathoUc question (what remained
of it after the Act of 1798) were clear and distinct — that
as far as possible he was to prevent its being agitated
that Session. If the stipulation' was that he was to
foment it in every shape and form, it would have more
suited his acts. He at once wrote letters to Portland
demanding ' urgency ' for the question, and, not having
received a reply for some weeks, he arrogated to him
self the right, in face of the clear agreement and without
a line to justify it, of proceeding according to his own
lights. ' It is urged by FitzwiUiam's apologists that he
considered that silence gives consent, a proverb doubt
ful at aU times, but preposterous as a poUtical plea ;
more especiaUy absurd when it is rehed on for guidance
in defiance of definite instructions.' ^
The Catholic question was sure, more suo, to turn
up at some time during the session, but the question in
the hands of a private member was one thing, and when
undertaken by Grattan, then in the close and ostenta
tious confidence of the Viceroy, not only with his open
and warm approval, but at his direct instance and
suggestion,^ was a totaUy different matter.
• Pitt, by Lord Eosebery.
* The Protest of Fitzwilliam, in the Jou/rnal of the House of Lords,

LORD FITZWILLIAM 195
His conduct in reference to offices and places was
equaUy against the whole spirit and meaning of the
understanding. Nothing could justify aU the changes
he contemplated and attempted. If changes in some
offices were clearly necessary, owing to considerations of
executive efficiency or the incapacity or improper con
duct of existing officials, then there might be a fair case
for consideration and for action. But no such reason
able views were governing FitzwiUiam's conduct. He
wanted to get rid of all the great existing officials, not
because they were incapable or corrupt, but because he
wished to give their places to others, seeking in aU the
cases to silence the victims by offering pensions of ex
travagant dimensions, without regard to a single con
sideration of economy or efficiency. The Ponsonbys
were mainly to blame for this. AU the correspondence
of that day is full of the Ponsonbys — of the Ponsonby
party, of the Ponsonby standard ; that George Ponsonby
was to be Attorney-General at aU events, and his brother
WiUiam Secretary of State, and may be also Chief
Commissioner of the Eevenue, when Beresford was put
out ; that the Beresfords were to be puUed down and the
Ponsonbys raised up. Beresford got a poUte notice to
quit before Fitzwilliam had recovered from his voyage ;
the two Under-Secretaries, SackviUe Hamilton and
Cook, were promptly commanded to go, and the two
Law Officers were told to pack up and be ready.
makes this clear : ' He sent for Mr. Grattan, and desired him as a person
in his confidence . . . that Mr. Grattan did consent . . . did at his
desire move for leave to bring in a BiU for the fiirther relief of the
Roman Catholics.' FitzwiUiam was fond of protests ; in 1785 he pro
tested against Pitt's commercial resolutions. 0 2

196 PITT
In a letter ^ of December 14, 1794, Lord Auckland
(Eden) writes the general official and popular under
standing of the position : ' I understand very positively
and pointedly that the new Viceroy is not to remove
any individual from office, unless for misbehaviour in
office; that WiUiam Ponsonby is to be Secretary of
State ; that George Ponsonby is to be Attorney-General
when the situation is open ; that Douglas is to be in
some way or another provided for ; that Mr. Grattan is
to be superintendent of Irish poUtics, but professedly
on the disinterested, moderating, and conciUatory
principle, and that no large or offensive change of
measures is to be brought forward. My inference is
that there wiU be great fermentation, both in the Levee
rooms at the Castle and in both Houses of ParUament ;
that the Government will be comfortless; that you.
Lord Fitzgibbon, etc., wiU not be comfortable ; that the
Ponsonby set wiU be restless to get a large share of
patronage ; that Mr. Pitt wiU have lost a large body of
Irish friends ; that the safety even of the country will
be hazarded.' Lord FitzwiUiam landed on Sunday, January 4,
1795 ; was iU and confined to his room for the whole of
the next day (Monday) ; and had only had Tuesday to
master aU the details of his new position. Daly waited
on Beresford on the next day (Wednesday) to teU him
he was to go — that he was too powerful — that he was
considered the King of Ireland ; and therefore that he
should be put out of office, but proposed that he should
be given a retiring pension of £2,000 a year.
1 Beresford Correspondence, ii. 48.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 197
Daly was brother-in-law of the Ponsonbys, and
therefore came with full authority to ' pull down the
Beresfords.' But Beresford was a strong man in a
strong position, who had conducted his department
with honesty and ability, and he was not going to be
cajoled, or bribed or buUied out of office.
He appealed through Auckland to Pitt, who at once
said^ that he hoped there was some mistake in the
statement, 'because it would be a breach of a most
solemn engagement.' Beresford utterly refused to
exhibit any convenient meekness of resignation, and
wrote to Auckland : ' I declare that I am an injured
man ; that I am turned out of office ; and I wiU not
resign. If any reason for displacing me can be pro
duced, save only that I have supported Government,
and that my office is wanted in order to be given to
some other person in order to support, not Government.
but the Governours of Government, I am ready to
resign.' Auckland repUed ^ to Beresford that, ' if it were
possible to come to a decisive explanation on this
subject it would have been done at the moment ; but
the state of the country, under the accumulation of
calamity and danger, is such that management is
necessary from every principle of public duty. It is
wonderful that at such a crisis Lord FitzwiUiam can
lend his name to an indecent, cruel and unjust course
of jobbing, contrary also to what was understood by a
most solemn promise.'
' Beresford Correspondence, u. 53, Lord Auckland to Beresford.
' Ibid,, Auckland to Beresford, Jajiuary 16, 1795.

198 PITT
Lord Milton, on January 16, wrote a formal letter
of dismissal to Beresford, saying that a new Commission
for the Board of Eevenue was about to be issued, and
that his name would not be included, ' but His Excel
lency, having taken into account your long and
laborious attendance in the office of First Commissioner
of the Board, wiU on the new arrangement being
approved by His Majesty, signify his orders to place
£2,000 a year, being the amount of your present salary,
amongst the " incidental charges " of the Eevenue.'
Beresford simply acknowledged the receipt of the letter
and took no notice of the offer of a pension. The
transaction was rash and iU considered. If Beresford
was on the merits entitled to a pension equal to his
sala,ry, he was entitled to keep his place and not be
dismissed, being in possession of aU his powers ; and if
he was not entitled by honest and able service, it was
an effort by a job to make another place vacant, des
tined, as was said, to be held by WilUam Ponsonby
along with the office of Secretary of State.
But the Ponsonbys should have let Beresford alone.
They should have known their man better. On
January 19 Beresford wrote ^ to Auckland : ' The foUy
of Mr. Ponsonby 's declarations is extraordinary. To
me Mr. Daly declared that I was considered King of
Ireland, and at Lord Shannon's dinner, after he had
gone away and a sufficient quantity of wine had been
drunk, Ponsonby declared that he had been long
struggling for power, that he had got the reins in his
hands, and would use them. At ParneU's dinner, seven
• Beresford Correspondence, ii. 59, January 19, 1795.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 199
of them sat tiU one o'clock and got drunk. Sir John
got into an argument, and swore that they never did so
foolish a thing as turn me out, and was pleased to speak
of me as an efficient and honest servant of the Crown.
Ponsonby replied that he acknowledged what he said,
and spoke handsomely of me, and concluded thus : " Had
I, however, aUowed him to remain in office, how could
the whole power of the country have been put into my
hands." He then told them that he never would have
come into office if he had not brought over Lord Fitz
wilUam with him, and that even then they would not
have undertaken it if they had not had a Secretary
of State to correspond with who would do as they
pleased.' Grattan, in February, moved for leave to bring in a
Bill for the repeal of all laws in any manner affecting
CathoUcs. The notice was in such general terms that
it might have included anything, and Lord Fitzgibbon,
writing ^ to Beresford on March 2, 1795, says : ' This
day I heard that Mr. Grattan's BiU had been sent to
England — I presume to endeavour, if possible, to
remove the difficulties which have arisen there. What
his Bill may be I know not, but sure I am that to carry
his project into execution he must repeal the Act of
Supremacy, the Test Act, the Act of Uniformity, the
BiU of Eights, and the Act limiting the succession to
the Crown ; and I do not think it requires any very
great degree of sagacity to see that the King ^ cannot give
' Beresford Correspondence, ii. 75.
^ There is a curious reference to Fitzgibbon's views on this subject,
and his possible communications with George III., in a letter of Portland
to Pelham, March 21, 1795 (Pelha/m Papers, British Museum) : ' I cannot

200 PITT
his assent to a repeal of any of them in this country
without a breach of his Coronation Oath and a direct
violation of the Articles of Union with Scotland.'
The Bill was discountenanced by the Cabinet, and
Lord FitzwiUiam had been told ^ officiaUy that ' by
delaying the Catholic question tiU the peace he might
render a greater service to the empire at large than any
it had received since the Eevolution.' But he would
not act upon the directions and advice of his coUeagues.
He was in frequent and close communication with
Grattan, and from his own Protest it appears he
directed and encouraged his action.
The view of the Cabinet, though Pitt was strongly for
the Catholics, appears to have been that in the midst of
a terrible war, straining aU the resources of the empire,
it was a grave step to make a radical change in the
constitution of the Irish Parhament. If in its new
formation it proved itself hostUe to the pohcy of Great
Britain in the great struggle then going on in Europe, it
but inform you, for the purpose of putting you upon your guard, that
we have heard from the most imquestionable authority that a cor
respondence has been carried on, or at least letters have been written by
Lord Fitzgibbon to the King (to whom they have been delivered by Lord
Westmoreland), with a view, and with more effect than could be wished,
to prejudice his mind and to alarm his conscience against the concession
to the CathoUcs. I don't know how you/r friend Pitt feels this, but if
this is to be the practice no Government can go on in Ireland, and I
beUeve there are not two opinions in the greater part of the Cabinet
respecting it.' The Duke could not have known that at the very same
time the Lord ChanceUor of England, Lord Loughborough, had sub
mitted to the King his views, all in the same direction as Lord Clare's,
in a careful memorandum, entitled, by George III. himself : ' Thoughts
on the Emancipation of the Eoman Catholics of Ireland, and dangers
arising firom granting them ' (CampbeU's Lives of the Lord Chancellors,
viii. 172).
' Beresford Correspondence, ii. 87.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 201
might cripple the Empire in its emergency, and defeat
its efforts in what it believed to be the needful imperial
policy. On the other side, it was urged the fears were
groundless, or, in any event. Fiat justitia ruat coelum,
throw open the doors of the Irish Parliament to all ;
Parliainent was made independent in 1782 : you must
trust it to do what it thinks right ; if it agrees with
Great Britain, the Cabinet would have no grievance,
and if it differs — why, it has a right to differ. But tiU
the end of time statesmen will consider expediency and
the prudence of occasions ; and it is plain from their
action that the Cabinet did not want, in the midst of all
their urgent foreign troubles, to have to face possible
complications resulting from what might be a radical
change in the constitution of the Irish Parliament, and
they wished to postpone the matter until after the
peace. The Catholic Committee in 1792 had disclaimed
seeking the admission of any but Protestants to ParUa
ment ; they only sought to give the Catholic forty-
shiUing freeholders the franchise when they possessed
besides a much larger quaUfication, so as to avoid the
complete swamping of the existing voters. The Eelief
Act of 1793, in addition to its own ameliorating pro
visions, gave the franchise without the suggested
qualification to all CathoUc forty-shiUing freeholders,
so that in the greater part of Ireland they already
wielded great power. When the Eelief Act of 1829
was passed, O'ConneU had to consent to an enactment
disfranchising the forty-shilling freeholders and raising
the franchise to ten pounds. Whether, if the CathoUcs

202 PITT
realised their great power under the Act of 1793, they
would have remained satisfied to return docile Protes
tants, amenable to the traditions and management of
English statecraft, it may not be easy to say. The
change was then in its infancy, and pohtical knowledge
then worked slowly ; but if, in addition to the vast
change in the electorate, there was also to be a wide
alteration in the power of selecting those who should
represent them, poUtical foresight or anxiety might
suggest possibilities of a radical change in the constitu
tion of the Irish ParUament, its ways, its methods, and
its points of view. As it was, it had sometimes been
found difficult to get the Irish ParUament to work in
harmony with Enghsh views of Imperial interests. It
might be found impossible if a large change were made ;
and in the midst of a war, that might be one of Ufe
and death, it was not desired to encourage these home
questions that might disturb and derange the consistent
and united action of the two Parhaments. EnUghtened
public opinion generations ago expressed itself in favour
of Catholic emancipation, and regretted its delay ; but
Pitt in 1795, though most friendly to the CathoUcs,
surveying the position at home and abroad, thought the
time iU-chosen, and wished for a postponement until
after the peace.
The end came rapidly, but hardly quick enough, for
every day FitzwiUiam remained in Ireland he did more
harm. On February 8, 1795, Portland warned Fitz
william to give no encouragement to the Catholics. On
> Pretyman MSS,

LORD FITZWILLIAM 203
the 9th Pitt himself censured the attempted dismissal of
Beresford. A few days after, Portland wrote a confidential
despatch, expressing strong disapproval of at that time
attempting emancipation. Among Pitt's papers ^ is a
draft of a letter to Fitzwilliam, which must have been
written and sent that month :
I must remark that though your lordship at different times
mentioned apprehensions of Mr. Beresford's supposed influence
and power, from ideas which I always conceived to be mistaken,
no intention was to my recollection ever hinted at, even in the
most distant manner, of proposing his removal from the Eevenue
Board, much less of doing so without his consent. Indeed, if a
change in so perpetual an office had been in your contemplation,
it would certainly have been mentioned at the meeting here, at
which all the other official arrangements which you thought of
were discussed. And certainly if it had been mentioned Lord
Grenville and I should have stated it as in itself liable to the
strongest objections (instead of considering it as an object fit to
be purchased at so dear a rate as an additional burden of
2,000Z. a year to the public), particularly from its being in
consistent with that principle of protection to the servants of
Government which we conceived you to have adopted, and by
which alone the full advantages of the union which had taken
place here could be extended to Ireland. While all these
general considerations press themselves on my mind, you will
not wonder that I cannot help also feeling it as a circumstance
of some additional weight in this particular instance that the
change which has thus been announced would never take effect
but by a direct authority from hence, and that under the
signature of the Lords of the Treasury. . . . All these arrange
ments, if they were to take place, would carry no impression to
the public but that of a studied and immediate change in
almost all the principal departments. ^ Pretyman MSS.

204 PITT
FitzwiUiam then wrote a long letter^ to Pitt on
February 14, 1795, mentioning Catholic claims, and aU
the controversy about Beresford, and then demanding
that Pitt and the Cabinet should choose between Beres
ford and him. His words were bold and manly: 'Upon
these and every other measure which I have submitted
to you and my other coUeagues, you now know my
decided opinion, and the rules by which my conduct
will be directed. If they are not such as to entitle me
to a cordial and unequivocal support of the Cabinet,
recaU me ; these are not times for the fate of the em
pire to be trifled with. There must be harmony and
mutual co-operation among those to whom so much is
entrusted, and I will deliver over the country in the
best state I can to any person who possesses more of
your confidence, and whose representations both as to
men and measures will be more relied upon.'
On February 21, 1795, Pitt wrote to him a courteous
but positive letter : ^
Downing Street : Feb. 21, 1795.
My dear Lord, — After the sentiments contained in my last
letter on the subject of the different official arrangements, and
the communication of the opinion of Government respecting the
Catholic question which you have received from the Duke of
Portland, you will easily judge of the pain with which I have
learnt your determination as stated in your letter to me of the
12th, and in your despatch by the same messenger. With
respect to the present state of the Catholic question refer to the
despatches from the Duke of Portland, in the sentiments of
which I entirely concur, and which must make me anxious that
all who wish well to the interests of Government should join in
preventing any further progress being made in Mr. Grattan's
Bill till we have received and considered the information which
' Pretyman MSS. = Ibid.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 205
we have thought it our duty to call for. With respect to
arrangements, I need only add that I feel myself bound to
adhere to the sentiments which I have stated, not only with
respect to Mr. Beresford but to the line of conduct adopted in
so many instances towards the former supporters of Government.
By these sentiments I must be guided, from a regard to the
King and my own honour, however sincerely I lament the con
sequence which your lordship has announced must result from
the present situation. I have the honour, etc.
W. Pnx.
Fitzwilliam was thus recalled in the month of Feb
ruary, 1795, and the absolute necessity for this strong
step must have been very clear when it commanded the
fuU concurrence of FitzwiUiam's own special political
aUies, Portland, Spencer, and Windham. The plain
truth is, it was a mistake ever to have selected him,
and a greater mistake stiU to have aUowed him to go
to Ireland after he had by his rash and precipitate
language shown his thorough unfitness for the Vice-
royalty. Even in the circumstances of his going away, he
showed his imprudence. He was strongly advised to
go away quietly, so as to avoid risk of rioting, advice
in which O'Beirne ^ joined, but he preferred the ' pride,
pomp, and circumstance ' of a fuU Viceregal function,
and left in due state on March 25.
The occurrence caused much anxiety to the Govern-
' O'Beirne was apprehensive of riot, but said that, ' upon deliberation,
His ExceUency's friends were of opinion, if it took place, it could not be
laid at his door.' Lord Milton appears to have become nervous upon
the subject, and he tried to stop the Gazette notice. (Beresford
Correspondence, ii. 65.) See Clare's two letters of March 1795 in the
Westmioreland Papers, Dublin Castle.

206 PITT
ment, and the Duke of Portland said that Pitt and
Windham were full of apprehension and gloom at the
meeting of March 28. Portland appears a month
before to have been anxious to smooth the position by
obtaining the King's leave for FitzwiUiam's ' continuing
to attend Cabinet meetings on his return from Ireland.'
George III. wrote at once to Pitt on February 22, 1795,^
' I therefore authorise Mr. Pitt to acquaint him [Fitz
wiUiam] with the suggestion having been laid before
me, with my cordial consent, though I doubt much
whether Earl FitzwiUiam is in a state of mind to accept
it.' It does not appear that the offer was ever made,
and there is no reason to think it would have been
accepted. It is manifest that Ministers thought the
whole question a very deUcate one : they were most
unwilUng to make an attack on FitzwiUiam, and they
defended his recaU by putting forward the prerogative
right of the Sovereign to change his servants.^
On April 22, 1795, FitzwiUiam addressed a long,
verbose, tedious, letter^ to the King, giving himself
' stanhope's Life of Pitt.
* The whole question was fuUy discussed at the time. No end of
essays, letters, and pamphlets were published on the subject. It was
debated both in CoUege Green and at Westminster. In May 1795 the
Duke of Norfolk moved for the correspondence between the Ministers
and FitzwiUiam relating to the motives and grounds of his recaU at the
particular time it took place. Lord FitzwilUam spoke at length, and
the motion was rejected. Mr. JekyU, supported by Fox, moved a similar
motion in the House of Commons, which was resisted by Pitt, who
moved the order of the day, which was carried by 183 to 43. (Adolphus,
History of England, vol. vi. oh. 92 ; ParUamentary History, vol. v.
ch. 31, pp. 1531-50).
' Pretyman MSS. It is interesting to bear in mind that Pitt, in
his schemes for a combined Administration, in May 1804 included the
name of FitzwiUiam as a Secretary of State, with Lord Melville and Fox.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 207
infinite praise for his honesty, insight, and promptitude,
as contrasted with the machinations of Ministers ; ex
plaining his desire for the rigorous prosecution of the
war ; putting forward his wishes for the Catholics,
asserting that Ministers had agreed in the principles of
a BiU for quieting the Catholics. The King sent the
letter to Pitt, with the foUowing letter : ^
Queen's House : April 29, 1795.
I think it right to communicate to Mr. Pitt the accompany
ing paper delivered to me by the Earl Fitzwilliam. I neither
desire it may be shown to the Cabinet Ministers, nor do I put
any importance that it should not be produced if Mr. Pitt thinks
it right. When he has done with it I desire it may be returned.
I cannot say much information is to be obtained from it. It
seems rather a panegyric on himself than any pointed attack on
Ministry, though it shows much disinclination to former col
leagues, and an insinuation that peace is thought of, which he
cannot more firmly disapprove of than myself; but I am certain
the whole Cabinet coincide with me in that sentiment.
George R.
One of FitzwiUiam's greatest friends was Lord Car
lisle, who had been Viceroy in 1780-2. They had been
intimate from boyhood, and they had aU through life the
greatest affection and regard for one another. Carlisle
having heard of his doings in Ireland, and of the alarm
they excited, wrote a frank and manly letter to Fitz
wiUiam : ^
This may have been to conciUate Fox, who was FitzwiUiam's great
Mend. ' Pretyman MSS.
^ Lord FitzwiUiam's correspondence with Lord CarUsle is printed at
length in the recent volume of the Hist. MSS. Com, ; Papers of Lord
CarUsle, p. 703, ei seq. FitzwiUiam's two principal letters to CarUsle
have been published for years, and may also be found in the Beresford
Correspondence. They were at once printed and circulated at Fitz
wiUiam's instance.

208 PITT
Lord Carlisle to Lord Fitzwilliam. Feb. 27, 1795.
The critical situation in which we conceive you are now
standing, both as to your own reputation and the general well-
being of the two countries, cannot fail of giving those interested
as I am for everything that concerns you the most serious
alarm. We fear things are come to that extremity that the stopping
short or abandoning a system perhaps too hastily adopted may,
from the quickness of your feelings, become a difficulty not easy
for you to surmount ; and yet, with a mind as pure as yours,
we cannot reconcile your persisting in those measures which
the nearest of your political connexions consider as most fatal
to the interests of both England and Ireland ; or that, sooner
than renounce them, you would quit the condition which the
public so much rejoiced you undertook.
Before you decide upon the last step, of such serious im
portance to yourself and to us all, 'tis an honest duty I discharge
when I boldly expose to you that opinion which I think prevails
generally in the" world as to your actual situation.
It has become a general belief, perhaps because it was a
general hope amongst all your friends, that no material measures
as to things or persons were to be concerted or done without the
concurrence of Mr. Pitt, always looking towards him as the
Prime Minister, and that the project of hastily removing men
who had not sinned against your administration had been aban
doned, as founded neither in policy nor justice. This belief has
obtained to that degree in the public mind so as to make it
everywhere publicly asserted that it was upon these arranged
points you took your decision to embark. Of this you must
know the truth. If the world is in an error, I must prepare
you to meet that error.
Under these impressions, you will not wonder at our surprise
and dismay at seeing your list of dismissions, for offences, if
committed, not marked at the time by those against whose
government they were committed with the punishment they
might be supposed to merit. But it is with something more

LORD FITZWILLIAM 209
than surprise we perceive those most connected with the
Castle (before you have had time to judge with your own under
standing) precipitately open measures which I protest to God,
knowing something of Ireland, I cannot a moment contemplate
without terror, nor, indeed, pretend to pursue their enormous
consequences. All this seems so contradictory to that plan which we were
taught to believe was to obtain for the good understanding
between the Govemments of both countries, and without which
most serious calamities — at this hour particularly — may arise to
both, that in truth we are lost in affliction and consternation.
If you cannot recede, which God forbid, you must prepare to
meet a very general opinion on this side of the water that your
advisers have been hasty, violent, and precipitate ; that they
have hurried you to the adoption of measures which could not
have had the previous approbation of the Ministers here, or
subsequently obtain their concurrence. And yet there is another
opinion, equally general, that from your known integrity and
honour your first consideration will be, whatever it may cost
your feelings, to embarrass as little as possible the present
Government at home, and that if you should entertain thoughts
of retum you could personally omit no sacrifice that might
tend to the ease and practicable rule of your successor.
Carlisle and Fitzwilliam had been boys together
at Eton, been always close and warm aUies, and the
whole letter shows an earnest desire to convey opinions
that needed to be known in the kindest and most con
siderate manner — entirely free from the unpleasant tone
of a candid friend.
FitzwiUiam wrote in reply, as is well known, two
very long letters ^ seeking to justify his removals from
office and his attitude on the Catholic question.
1 The first is dated March 6, 1795, and the second March 23, 1795,
both from Dublin Castle. (Beresford Correspondence ; Hist. MSS. Com.,
15th Rep., App., part 6, Lord CarUsle's Papers.) P

210 PITT
At the close of the second letter he asserts that Pitt
did not reaUy object to his measures or his removals,
and that his action was to be ascribed to dislike : ' To
my measures Mr. Pitt has no objection : I predict that
he wUl adopt them through the medium of my successor.
I am not sure that he wiU not even court the connections
I have formed for Government. For the person for
whom he has pretended to contend so strenuously he
has no regard; and I doubt whether he wiU even
permit him to resume his station at the Eevenue Board,
though he is entitled to do it, even without a reappoint
ment, for, in fact, he has never been out of office. To
get rid then of me personaUy, and thereby to consign
me over to immediate disgrace, has been the motive of
everything that has happened relative to Ireland. I
have then the glory of being the object of Mr. Pitt's
disUke.' Carlisle, on April 14, 1795, replied^ to FitzwiUiam
in a gentle and kindly letter, unmistakably, however,
showing that he thought the latter was wrong on aU
points. CarUsle had written his first letter in fuU con
fidence to his friend, to warn him of the state of pubhc
opinion. FitzwiUiam had sought to make his repUes a
pubhc statement of his position as to both measures
and men. Carlisle, in his letter of April 14, seeks aU
through to keep before FitzwiUiam's eyes that he had
written and was then writing as a friend to a friend.
Affection and forbearance are shown in every line :
A friendship which commenced in the earliest period of
' Beresford Correspondence, ii. 94; Hist, MSS Com,, Lord CarUsle's
Papers, p. 723.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 211
youth, and which I trust will only cease with the termination of
life, would readily supply sufficient excuse for heavier difficul
ties than those imposed on me owing to the two letters you
addressed to me, in answer to mine of February 27, finding
their way to the inspection ofthe public. It is not easy for m©
to guess what idea the pubhc may have formed of that letter,
which has produced such copious answers from you, and seemed
to force you to a justification beyond the Umits of a secret and
confidential correspondence.
In turning to that letter, I think you will perceive nothing,
besides my zeal for your welfare and interest, which could hav©
prompted me to the communication and disclosure of such
opinions of the opening of your administration as I was
enabled to gather, and to which (however erroneously or cor
rectly conceived) it appeared to me you ought not to have
remained a stranger. ... I stated to you that a general belief
prevailed that in your final arrangements and concluding con
versation with His Majesty's Ministers, at which others assisted,
it was settled that no material measure either as to persons or
things was to be concerted or decided upon without further com
munication with and concurrence of the Cabinet of England.^
... In Mr. Pitt's endeavour to hold up a shield to shelter
persons who had merited the favour of the last Lord-Lieutenant
by their services, and on whose conduct no blame or censure
had attached, I can only perceive an instance of firmness and
justice ; and surely it requires explanation to convince plain and
impartial men that such removals, taking the mode, time, and
provocation, were not at least a seeming departure from the
amicable dealing towards the Prime Minister which we at a
distance were taught to hope and believe was to mark the junc
tion of your party to Mr. Pitt. ... In many parts of your
letter, if I mistake not, it may be collected that, owing to th©
circumstances of the times, the pressure of business produced by
the war, and the necessity of pointing all thought, as well as all
exertion, towards the defence of the Empire, it was a general
wish to postpone the consideration of the merits of the Eoman
Catholic question for a moment better fitted for a less interrupted
investigation of it. . . . May I, my dear friend, be permitted; p 2

212 PITT
to say that, weighing every part of this subject in the most dis
passionate and impartial manner I am able, I never heard the
sound of accusation of your conduct in any quarter, perceived
no attack aimed at your character, no stain endeavoured to be
fixed upon your reputation, no abandonment of private friend
ship or affection, no wretched symptoms of that refined dissimu
lation you fancy you have detected. ... I have been obliged,
thus tediously, to trespass on your patience, an apology for
which can only be looked for and found in that friendship I
before alluded to, and which has, for so many years, taught us
indulgence for each other.
FitzwUliam was plainly anxious, from some passages
in his letters, that they should be by no means kept
private. At the close of his first. letter he had said : —
' I wish that you wiU show it to as many persons as you
shall think proper,' and he would appear to have him
self done everything to make it pubhc. Carhsle showed
it to the King, who wrote : ^ ' I have not the smaUest
doubt that the same good intentions that dictated the
Earl of Carlisle's letter wiU point out the propriety
of trying to set an honourable man right, whose heat
certainly has prevented him from attending to the false
reasoning that prevails in the whole statement of his
narrative.' He also showed it to the ChanceUor, Lord Lough
borough, who wrote the following important reply : ^
' It is difficult to express the concem I feel from Lord F.'s
letter : having laboured with the truest zeal to remove the
obstacles to his appointment, and confident in the apparent suc
cess of my endeavours, the disappointment affects me more
peculiarly. All subjects of dissension I thought were removed
1 March 22, 1795 (Hist, MSS. Com., Lord Ca/rUsle's Papers, p. 713,
15th Eep., App., part 6).
' March 15, 1795 (ib. p. 712).

LORD FITZWILLIAM 213
by the explanation which took place at the meeting between
Mr. Grattan and Mr. Burke and myself, and was afterwards
confirmed by Lord P. The copy of the note made at the time
will show how far my expectation was well founded, that as to
the arrangement of places at least there could not be much em
barrassment after the principles which were to govern that
arrangement had been so fully admitted.
What passed here as to the detail of offices, I am totally
ignorant ; from th© appar©nt good humours on all sides I had
no doubt that it was all settled by an amicable concert, and it
was indifferent to me how it was settled. But upon the state
ment in Lord P.'s letter, I am obliged to say that he has not
kept in his. view th© t©rms of his explanation. If he in Ireland
was to mak© an Attorney-General against Mr. Pitt's consent,
and a Solicitor-General without his knowledge, there could be
nothing more opposite to the idea of settling offices here by
amicable concert, or of Mr. Pitt's being considered as the
Minister, or of supporting in Ireland the English Adminis
tration. As to the subject of Beresford's place, which has acquired
an importance that I am sure your lordship must think does
not belong to it, the mode of conducting that and some other
removals seemed to mark, and by Lord P.'s letter was intended
to mark to the public, a reprobation of the late Government of
Ireland, which surely could never be supposed to be the result
of an amicable concert here without disgracing the English Ad
ministration and destroying all future confidence amongst its
supporters in Ireland.
The Catholic question, which is of far greater moment than
all the rest, was never discussed upon its merits at any meeting
where I was present. . . . How this unfortunate business may
end I cannot conjecture, especially as it appears that Lord P. is
yet too narrow to discuss it fairly, and no pains will be spared
to keep him in this temper.
The 'explanation' referred to is of the highest
importance. A copy in Lord Loughborough's hand
writing was enclosed to Lord Carlisle, and is set

214 PITT
out^ amongst the manuscripts of Lord Carlisle printed
by the Historical Manuscripts Commission in the exact
form foUowing :
Explanation settled between Mr. Grattan and Mr. Burke,
coming from Lord P. and the Chancellor.
(1795, March).2 They stated that Lord F.'s view was ' To
support in Ireland the English Govemment, considering Mr. Pitt
as the Prime Minister, without whom no material measure as to
things or persons is to be concerted or done — not setting up a
Government of Departments, but that each department acting
under him should meet with its due and honourable support
from him.
' No vindictive removals ; those which may be necessary for
convenience to be settled here by amicable concert.
' Misrepresentations and indiscretions may have had effect on
both sides ; to wipe away all memory of them, and to start as
on new ground. To arrange, in the best manner for the interest
of both Kingdoms, the state of Ireland for this purpose.'
The above words were settled in the course of the
conversation. After Mr. Grattan and Mr. Burke had
left him, the Chancellor added the foUowing note :
This from Lord F. and understated ; he is ready and desirous
to state it more fully himself.
The Chancellor thought it necessary for him to see Lord
Fitzvnlliam himself, which he did the following day, in the pre
sence of Mr. Grattan. The note was fully considered in all its
parts, and Lord P. made no objection or remark, except that in
the memorandum added by the Chancellor he observed the word
' willing ' would have been more exact than desirous in Lord
Loughborough's hand.
' P. 722, Hist. MSS, Com., 15th Eep., App., part 6.
" This date is presumably inserted as the probable date of the copy
made by Loughborough, and transmitted by him to Carlisle. The date
of the ' explanation ' itself may be assumed to be before FitzwilUam went
to Ireland.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 215
It is obvious that the importance and significance
of this ' explanation ' can hardly be over-estimated.
Grattan and Burke, as weU as Fitzwilliam, were parties
to it, and, as far as it goes, it is in substantial accord
with the broad outUnes of the understanding drawn up
by Pitt, and expanded in detail in the memorandum of
March 28, 1795. It is plain that FitzwilUam departed
from the explanation as freely as he did from the
understanding stated in the memorandum.^ He seems
to have been incapable of reaUsing the binding nature
of such obUgations.
In leaving Ireland FitzwiUiam did not get rid of
Beresford, or the consequences of his own intemperate
action and language. In his letters to Carlisle he had
rashly spoken most disparagingly of Beresford, and in
his letter ^ of March 6 he had actuaUy written : ' But
when on my arrival here all these apprehensions of his
dangerous power, which Mr. Pitt admits I had often
represented to him were fuUy justified, when he was
fiUing a position greater than that ofthe Lord-Lieutenant
himself, and when I clearly saw that if I had connected
myself with him it would have been connecting myself
with a person labouring under heavy suspicions and
subjecting my Government to aU the opprobrium and
unpopularity attendant upon his maladministration,
^ See Grattan's Memoirs, vol. iv., by his son. Loughborough's letter
to Grattan, February 28, 1795, refers to 'the very clear explanation
settled between us and Mr. Burke. . . . Nothing left unexplained and
unsettled at time of Lord-Lieutenant's departure.' This is a very cautious
letter — not in favour of FitzwUUam. Burke's letters to Grattan also
suggest a strong desire to let FitzwiUiam know what was said.
^ Beresford Correspondence, ii. 78 ; Hist. MSS, Com., Lord CarUsle's
Papers,

216 PITT
what was then my choice, what the decision I had to
form ? I could not hesitate a moment. I decided at
once not to cloud the dawn of my administration by
leaving in such power and authority so much imputed
malversation.' There could be no uglier stab given to the character
of a Chief Commissioner of the Eevenue, with aU the
deadhness of general words, not specific or distinct, but
utterly destructive to character. The letter was not
intended to remain secret. FitzwiUiam took steps to
make its contents known, and thus indeed, if his charge
was weU founded, give to his dismissal high moral
authority. There was not the vestige of foundation for the
scandalous suggestions of malversation so recklessly put
forward by FitzwiUiam, and Beresford, justly indignant,
at once took counsel with his friends. Fitzgibbon was
characteristicaUy clear. He advised Beresford to bring
an action, and said : ^
One broad fact must damn him on this subject for ever.
He landed here on Sunday evening, and was confined to his
room by indisposition for the whole of the next day. On Wed
nesday Mr. Bowes Daly was sent to you, so that he had one day
only to enquire into the multiplied acts of malversation which
he alleges against you, and his justification for wishing to
' Beresford Correspondence, u. 88: Lord Fitzgibbon to Beresford,
March 26, 1795. In the Auckland Papers at the British Museum,
Beresford, in a letter to Lord Auckland (34, 453, and 237), says: 'The
accusation is against me, as a Commissioner of Wide Streets, that I
persuaded the Board to let the ground (for the Custom House) to a Mr.
OttiweU under the value, and that I had an interest in so doing. An
enquiry was instituted in the Lords ; the Committee have sat now the
third session and every tittle of evidence has disproved what was
insinuated.'

LORD FITZWILLIAM 217
remove you. He also takes occasion to accuse you of
duplicity to Mr. Pitt. How he will be able to justify his
flagrant breaches of public duty and private faith * in publishing
a passage of most grave and serious import, contained in a pri
vate and confidential despatch received by him from the Duke
of Portland — how he will be able to answer it to the British
Ministry, whilst he was actually Lord-Lieutenant, issuing a
manifesto to the good people of this country recommending to
them to pursue a measure of his which had been condemned
unanimously by the English Cabinet, and for which he was, in
his own phrase, deposed — how he will answer it to that Govern
ment to proclaim to the good people of Ireland that the supplies
voted by the Parliament were the stipulated price of that mea
sure, and that the discontent arising from his recall will be
repressed only by arms, is to be determined on his arrival in
England. In his expectation of commotion most certainly he
will be disappointed.
The iUness and subsequent death of his wife, and
also his desire to leave ample time to have the affairs of
his department fuUy criticised and examined, prevented
Beresford from at once pressing Lord Fitzwilliam for an
explanation or retractation of his words, but on June 22
he did so in a manly and dignified letter. Lord Fitz
wiUiam wrote in reply that he could not allow any
person whatever to charge his statements with falsity.
No arrangement having been come to, a duel was agreed
on, which Beresford fully describes in the following
letter ^ to Lord Buckingham :
^ This was also Pitt's view. Bishop Tomline, vrritiug to his wife that
year, says : ' Mr. Pitt told me at breakfast that Lord F. had been guUty
of a greater breach of official secrecy than he ever knew any man before.
He has given forty to fifty copies of a paper in which was an extract from
the most private possible despatches relative to the very critical state of
Ireland' (Pretyman MSS,).
' Beresford Correspondence,

218 PITT July 6, 1795.
My dear Lord, — You had not left town half an hour when I
called at your house, wishing to have stated to you what had
passed between Lord Fitzwilliam and me. ... In consequence
of what had passed, I thought it necessary to call upon Lord
Fitzwilliam either to disavow or to explain in a proper manner
the expressions he had made use of in the letters to Lord Car
lisle, published in his name. ... In his answer he avows the
paragraphs I quoted, but denies they were published by his dis
cretion, at his desire, or with his privity, and adds that he will
not permit anyone to charge them with falsity, and says he wUl
come to town in a few days, and desires me to stay for him. . . .
This answer is dated June 23, and I heard not a word from
him until eight o'clock on Sunday morning, the 28th, when
Lord George Cavendish ' called upon me. He told me he was
sorry to come upon so disagreeable a business, but Lord Fitz
william had come to town, and was then in a hackney coach in
the neighbourhood, and ready to obey my call. . . .
Lord George and Sir George Montgomery ^ went out together
to fix a place of meeting : while they were doing this. Lord
George asked if they could not interfere. Sir George said that
they might if Lord FitzwilHam would make an apology. Lord
George said that he would make any he could with propriety.
Sir George retumed to me, and we got into a coach and fol
lowed directly. When we came to the ground, the treaty was
renewed, and drafts of an apology were drawn, which were not
satisfactory to me. This took up time, during which a number
of people gathered round us, suspecting what we were about.
I doubt not there were fifty. We therefore were obliged to get
into my coach and drive off. We went through Paddington
' Lord George Cavendish, second son of WiUiam, fourth Duke of
Devonshire, and Lady Charlotte Boyle, daughter of Eichard, third Earl
of Burlington. Born 1754 ; M.P. for the County of Derby ; created,
1831, Earl of BurUngton; married, 1782, Lady EUzabeth Compton,
daughter of Charles, seventh Earl of Northampton ; died 1834.
'' Sir George Montgomery, second son of Sir WUUam Montgomery ;
half brother to Mrs. Beresford; M.P. for Peeblesshire; succeeded as
Baronet 1783 ; died 1831.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 219
about a mile and a half, and went into another field. They made
one attempt more at an apology, which would not answer, and
then Sir George measured the ground, dropping a glove where
he set out and another where he stopped. I went directly to
the latter with my pistol, and his lordship was walking to the
former, and within two yards of it, when a magistrate called
out to him by name, ' Lord FitzwUliam, I desire you will keep
the peace. I am a magistrate ! '
His lordship tumed about much agitated, when he was
arrested, and his pistol taken from him. I then walked to
them, and gave my pistol to Sir George. Lord FitzwiUiam
then turned to me, and said : ' Now, Mr. Beresford, that we
have been prevented from finishing this business in the manner
I wished, I have no scruple to make an apology,' which he did,
and hoped it would be satisfactory to me. Having said as much
as it was possible for him to say, and having assured me that
the letters were never meant for publication, he then repeated
for the press, but only to be shown to those friends who Lord
Carlisle mentioned to have concoived certain opinions of his
conduct, that the expressions which he used arose from impres
sions he had r©c©ived from those he conversed with, and were
not intended to injure or relate to my private character. And
considering that it was he that called on me for the expressions
in my letter to him, which he acknowledged in his answer to me
of the 23rd, but which expressions he never mentioned then, or
requested my apology for, I thought it right to accept of his
apology to me, and put an end to the business. I therefore said,
as matters stood, I should accept his apology. He then hoped
I would give him my hand, which I did, and he said : ' Now,
thank God, there is a complete end to my Irish administration ' ;
and said something civil, purporting that he hoped that we
should meet again on more pleasant terms. . . .
Your faithful and obedient servant, J. Bebesfoed.
One cannot but feel on reading this letter that Lord
FitzwiUiam was an honourable gentleman, who had been
led into an untenable position, from which false pride at

220 PITT
first prevented him from receding, but from which at
last he extricated himself by an apology, creditable
to his upright character, but which makes it very
difficult to defend the unjust dismissal from which all
the difficulties flowed.
FitzwiUiam acted so hastily, having given himself no
time to investigate or dehberate, was so bhnded by his
own vain desire to start a new system, and so much
under the influence of the Ponsonbys, that he left him
self no defence sufficient to justify the dismissals. It
would have been perfectly legitimate for him to give
George Ponsonby high legal office, subject to the con
ditions agreed on, and to make such changes, after due
investigation, in other offices, as he might think the
pubhc service required. But, off" hand, to make sweep
ing dismissals without being able to make or suggest a
single charge against any of the officials, and to try to
silence them and their friends by giving them pensions
equal to their salaries — to seek, as in Beresford's case,
to throw in a charge of malversation to give colour to
the transaction, was wholly indefensible. What was the
good of demanding the purification of the pension Ust
if the commencement v? as to be made by the offer of
monstrous, indefensible and iUegal pensions? What
was the good of thanking God that he was not as other
men were, when he did the very things that other men
had done ?
The Attorney-General to be got rid of was Wolfe,^
' Wolfe— the Eight Hon. Arthur Wolfe, born 1739 ; caUed to the Bar
1766 ; SoUcitor-General 1787, Attorney 1789 ; succeeded Lord Clonmel
as Chief Justice 1798 ; M.P., 1,783-98 created, 1798, Viscount KUwarden
murdered in Emmet's outbreak, 1803.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 221
afterwards Lord KUwarden. To use FitzwiUiam's own
words in his letter to Carlisle already referred to : ' The
great question was to make an easy and honourable
retreat for the Attorney-General. That retreat was
secured for him in the fullest meaning and intent of
expression, unless it can be said that a reversion for
himself and his son of £2,300 a year, and that daily
augmenting, a peerage for his family, and an assurance
on my part that, although removed from the immediate
pretensions of his office, he stiU remained a person in
my contemplation to fiU the first vacancy of a Chief
Justice seat, was not an easy and honourable retreat.'
If part of FitzwiUiam's mission was to get rid of
jobbing, reversions of great salaries and traffic in
peerages, it is hard to conceive a more unfortunate
commencement, or one more entirely opposed to the
agreement with his coUeagues.
O'Beirne, the private secretary, was, within a few
weeks after his arrival, appointed by FitzwiUiam Bishop
of Ossory. His subsequent career was not undistin
guished, but aU that the public at the time knew was
that he was the private secretary of the new Lord-
Lieutenant, who was screaming ' Excelsior,' and that it
was very great and rapid promotion under such cir
cumstances. Private secretaries are sometimes lucky,
and O'Beirne was certainly very lucky. He got for a
few weeks' service an elevation denied to the genius of
Swift and to the eloquence of Kirwan.^
1 Grattan said of Kirwan: 'The curse of Swift was upon him — to
have been born an Irishman, and a man of genius, and to have used it
for the good of his country.' Sir Jonah Barrington (Sketches of His
Own Times, i. 426) says of Kirwan : ' He pronounced one of the most

222 PITT
It is ludicrous in the face of facts to speak of
FitzwiUiam's displacements with high-sounding plati
tudes. Throughout, Fitzwilliam was engineered by the
Ponsonbys ; he was used as a means of replacing or
seeking to replace one set of officials by another —
possibly not worse, certainly not better.
Fitzwilliam must be held responsible for his own
failure and his own recall. But it is impossible
not to feel a sympathy for him. He was upright,
honourable, sincere, with very exceUent intentions;
but he was vain, impulsive, headstrong, and rash,
without prudence or reserve, unacquainted with the
methods of public hfe, and unfortunate in being so
much swayed by the Ponsonbys. He should have
abandoned the whole enterprise when his coUeagues
sought to bind him by a compact which he should
have seen he had estopped himself from obeying. One
must give due credit to his loyal devotion to the
Catholics — which blinded him to the considerations of
time and occasion by which he was bound. On the
patronage mistakes, the Ponsonbys must, very largely,
share the criticism. FitzwiUiam thought — no doubt
eloquent orations I ever heard from the members of any profession at
any era. His manner of preaching was of the French school ; he was
vehement for a whUe, and then, becoming (or affecting to become) ex
hausted, he held his handkerchief to his face. A dead sUence ensued — he
had skUl to perceive the precise moment to recommence— another blaze
of declamation burst upon the congregation, and another fit of exhaustion
was succeeded by another pause. The men began to wonder at his
eloquence; the women grew nervous at his denunciations. His tact
rivaUed his talent ; and at the conclusion of one of his finest sentences, a
" celestial exhaustion " (as I heard a lady call it) not unfirequently ter
minated his discourse — in general abruptly. Kirwan in the Pulpit,
Curran at the Bar, and Sheridan in the Senate, were the three most
effective orators I ever recoUect in their respective departments.'

LORD FITZWILLIAM 223
mistakenly, with Pitt's strong statement supported by
the recollection of his coUeagues on the other side —
that he had got some kind of tacit consent to his
deaUng with Beresford, though he utterly destroyed
this defence by his reckless and unfounded charges.
But FitzwiUiam was tried at the time when aU was
known and fresh in men's minds, and tried before a
tribunal of men of honour acquainted with pubUc life
— by his own warm friends, who had introduced him
into the Government, upheld him against Pitt, and
threatened to resign when he suggested, before Fitz
william went to Ireland, that the appointment should be
canceUed. These men — ^Portland, Spencer, Windham-^ '
after a Uttle more than a month's actual experience of
his style and conception of administration, came to the
conclusion that he was impossible, and, so far from
trying to defend him, they could stand him no longer.
We have seen that his own close friend, CarUsle, was
also forced to decide against him.
The results of the recaU of Fitzwilliam were naturaUy
unfortunate. He had excited hopes and expectations
which, even if he had remained, he could not have satis
fied, but which, going away as he did, people thought
were defeated or interrupted by his recall. This led to
widespread disappointment and much discontent. But
it is unnecessary and unwise to attribute too much of
the misfortunes of the next few years to this cause.
Lord Eosebery ^ points out : ' Because it was followed
by some miserable years, it has been held to be the
cause of the misery of those years. This is surely a
1 Pitt, by Lord Eosebery, p. 182.

224 PITT
misstatement : it was rather a landmark. What in
1795 was caUed the Catholic question was rather a sign
of grace than a measure of real importance. The mass
of the Catholic peasantry akeady had the franchise
under the Emancipation Act, 1792-93, and it imported
little to them whether or not a number of gentry of
their own persuasion went up to Dublin to be bought
and sold at the Castle ; it had indeed always been a
matter of indifference to them whether they were led
by Protestants or Catholics.^ Nor can parliamentary
reform, if we may trust witnesses so inteUigent and
weU-informed as McNevin, be said to have been an
object of enthusiasm to the mass of the population.
What pinched the people were tithes and excessive
rents.' It must not be forgotten that even if FitzwUliam
had remained and passed through Parhament a Bill to
permit Catholics to sit in Parliament, there was then
the conscientious obstinacy of George IH. to face.
Assuming that the Irish Parliament passed the BiU, and
it was then shipwrecked, would not the disappointment
have been more acute and the outcry more bitter?
The convictions of the King on this subject made a
serious difficulty which Ministers had to consider. This
led to Pitt's own resignation after the Union.
The real injury to the country was the excitement
and disappointment and anger at the withdrawal and
destruction of vague hopes — of some new and startling
system — that would work miracles in the country.
> It should be noted that in the year 1795 Maynooth was founded for
the education of students intended for the Catholic priesthood. The
Orange Society was also established in the same year.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 225
The old order was to give way to some wondrous new
one. The wUd hopes excited by the French Eevolution
were in the air, and aU this raised and sustained a
dangerous state of excited feeling.
But the failure of FitzwiUiam cannot fairly be made
answerable for more. When FitzwiUiam came, Ireland
was in a serious state. The United Irishmen were
thinking of dangerous projects. Tone had discussed
projects of invasion, Jackson was awaiting trial for
treasonable correspondence with France. No doubt
the extreme party that was plotting treason and in
vasion availed themselves of the popular feeUng excited
by the recaU of FitzwiUiam, and tried by that, as weU
as by every other means, to fan pubhc discontent.
Beresford,^ writing to Auckland on September 4, 1796,.
says : ' Should things turn out iU here. Lord FitzwiUiam
wiU not have any reason to exult. On the contrary, he
is answerable for the whole mischief; for, although the
fire was in existence, though latent, it was he who blew
it into a flame, and actuaUy set the people into motion
against the King and EngUsh Government. His prophe
cies are like those of the United Irishmen : he does the
mischief first, and then prophesies that it wiU happen.'
But, assuming that FitzwiUiam had not been re
caUed, and the Ponsonbys had replaced the Beresfords,.
and the ' clean sweep ' had been made, and he had been
permitted to make efforts to pass his Catholic Emanci
pation Bill, and that the King had been persuaded to
consent (a large assumption), is it likely that the men
who had been plotting and planning treason after
^ Beresford Correspondence, U. 130. Q

226 PITT
treason, and invasion after invasion, would have been
satisfied ? The Eelief Act of 1793 had not turned them
for a second from their course. They were bold, reso
lute, determined men, and there was nothing in their
past or future history to encourage the belief that they
would have desisted.
The leading United Irishmen were then thinking of
independence and separation. Wolfe Tone ^ (compro
mised by disclosures on Jackson's trial) had to fly, but
before going he had sworn his friends to work for Irish
independence.^ It is worthy of note that Wolfe Tone
in his autobiography (a most interesting book), never
once even names FitzwiUiam. There is not a sugges
tion in it that FitzwiUiam's Viceroyalty or recaU had
even the smallest effect on the views of himself or his
friends. The evidence ^ before the Secret Committee of

' It is interesting to note an episode in his early life in which Lord
Plxmket and Archbishop Magee took part. They were students together
in Trinity CoUege, Dublin, and members of the famous CoUege Historical
Society, founded by Edmund Burke. Tone had won three medals in the
society, and they were unfortunately stolen firom him. The society
resolved, on a motion proposed by Phmket and seconded by Magee, ' that
Mr. Tone should be presented with three medals in the place of those
which he had been robbed of, as weU to testify our respect for so valuable
a member as because we would wish to perpetuate the proofs of our own
discernment ' (Irish Qua/rterly Beview, iv. 316).
^ Before his judges he said : ' From my earliest youth I have regarded
the connection between Ireland and Great Britain as the curse of the
Irish nation, and felt convinced that whUst it lasted this country could
never be free and happy ' (Autobiography of Wolfe Tone, ii. 235, edited
by Barry O'Brien).
^ McNevia was asked : ' Would you think the mass of the people m
the provinces of Leinster, Munster, and Connaught care the value of this
pen, or the drop of ink which it contains, for ParUamentary reform or
Catholic emancipation ? ' Answer : ' I am sure they do not, but they
wish much to be reUeved from tithes.' To T. A. Emmet : ' Would you
think the mass of the people care for CathoUc emancipation or Parlia-

LORD FITZ WILLI A.M 227
1798 does not suggest that the recaU of FitzwiUiam, or
CathoUc Emancipation, or Parliamentary reform, had
any real effect on the nation, but goes to show that
tithe reUef was the only question that reaUy stirred their
minds. McNaUy does not even hint that the FitzwilUam
episode tended to foment or cause disaffection.
On the occasion of Hoche's expedition to Bantry
Bay, in 1796, the peasantry of Cork, Galway and
Limerick, almost aU Eoman Catholics, vied with one
another in proofs of loyalty to the EngUsh Government.
This does not support the suggestion that FitzwUUam's
recaU of the year before was regarded by the Eoman
Catholics of Ireland as a fatal step — a turning-point in
their history. It very probably more seriously affected
and disappointed some moderate prominent men than
it did the mass of the people. The irreconcilables were
quite unmoved by the episode.
Lord Edward Fitzgerald and O'Connor tried to
negotiate a fresh invasion, and Hoche, with 15,000
men, essayed it in December 1796. Things became so
mentary reform ? ' Answer : ' I beUeve the mass of the people do not
care a feather for Catholic emancipation, neither did they care for ParUa
mentary reform tUl it was explained to them as leading to other objects
which they looked to, principaUy the abolition of tithes ' (Proceeddngs of
the Secret Committee, August 1798). The Eeport of the House of
Commons stated : ' The society under the name of United Irishmen was
estabUshed in 1791 ; its founders held both what they termed CathoUc
emancipation and ParUamentary reform the ostensible objects of their
union ; but it cleajly appeared, from the letter of Theobald Wolfe Tone
accompanying the original constitution, as transmitted to Belfast for
adoption, that from its commencement the real purpose of those
who were at the head of the institution was to separate Ireland fi:om
Great Britain, and to perfect the estabUshed constitutions of this king
dom.' ft 2

228 PITT
critical that the Government^ had to pass an Insur
rection Act to try to cope with the internal disorders of
the country.
A Dutch invasion was planned and attempted in
July 1797, and was only defeated by the naval victory
of Admiral Duncan off" Camperdown. The men who
planned and plotted these invasions meant separation,
and some died in the cause. Were these desperate
efforts caused by FitzwiUiam's failure ? If he had not
been recaUed would they have desisted? UntU the
end of time opinions may differ on this subject of the
hypothetical results of the FitzwiUiam failure. But the
failure itself cannot with any show of reason or fairness
be ascribed to Pitt.
Matters became very bad in 1797 : there were out
rages of all kinds, and robbery of arms in aU directions.
The state of Ulster became very serious. Large parts
of the North were placed under martial law, and had
a commanding miUtary force, largely composed of
yeomanry and militia, quartered in them.
The people there were disarmed, and there were
painful outrages on both sides, flogging and half-
hanging, carding and houghing. The EebeUion was
brewing. There was a state of ' smothered war.'
The Government had information enough, and jails
were fiUing rapidly. In the early months of 1798 it
was manifest that matters were coming to a crisis. On
March 17, Oliver Bond and the Delegates were arrested.
' In England the Govemment had also to contend by strong measures
with the dangerous spirit caused by the French Eevolution. In 1793 the
Traitorous Correspondence Act was passed, and in 1795 the Treasonable
Practices and Seditious Meetings Acts were carried.

LORD FITZWILLIAM 229
On May 19 the unfortunate Lord Edward Fitzgerald was
captured. The two Sheares brothers were seized on
the 21st. The EebeUion was fixed for aU Ireland on
May 23 ; but it hung fire. There was no rising except
in DubUn, Kildare, and Meath, and, on its own account,
in Wexford. Fortunately, it only lasted a few weeks.
MercifuUy it was confined to but a smaU part of the
country, and the foreign aUies of the rebels did not
arrive in time. But it lasted long enough for the loss
of many human UveSj and to show the confiicts, out
rages and catastrophes of a civil war — long enough to
mark a sad and painful page in the history of Ireland.
Shortly after Bond's trial in July 1798, a compro
mise was made, by which the Government agreed to
banish the rest of the prisoners upon getting general
information as to the United Irishmen.
Later in the same year a pardon was passed, which
applied to the humbler classes engaged in the EebeUion.
It is no part of the purpose of this chapter to sketch
the painful scenes of the EebeUion. A new Viceroy
came at its close — a man with a good and honest heart,
an honourable nature, and a sound understanding.
He came in time to show a merciful spirit to the
dying revolt. But the, great work of the Viceroyalty
of CornwaUis was the Union.

230 PITT

CHAPTEE VH
pitt's one love stokt
Pitt whoUy given to public life— There cold and distant — Quite different
in private — Gay and witty — Opinions of WeUesley, Addington, and
Rose as to attractiveness — One pun — Warmth of famUy affections —
Kind to dependents — Purity of his life — Macaulay — Peter Pindar —
Visit to France — MdUe. Necker — Her mother appears to have
thought of Pitt as suitor — ^Her daughter did not — Nor probably Pitt —
WUberforce heard rumour — Pitt never thought seriously of marriage
until 1796 — Hon. Eleanor Eden — Pitt's intimacy with her father
— Knew her fi:om chUdhood — Visits to Eden Farm — His picture —
Hers — Much to attract him — And her — He had no confidant —
Rumours — Burke's witty aUusion — Discretion of Beresford — ^Pitt
spent Christmas recess, 1796, at Eden Farm — Much attracted — But
made up his mind not to proceed — Long letter to Auckland announcing
decision — Eeply not forthcoming — Further long letter from Pitt — Sad
and decisive — Auckland's reply — Arranged what firiends should be
told — Draft of Pitt's letters — Pitt's action abrupt — Not known if they
ever met after — Lady Hester's opinions of efiect on Pitt — Two years
later Eleanor Eden engaged to Lord Hobart — ^Addington tells Pitt —
Who writes to Auckland ' with cordial good wishes ' — Auckland differed
from Pitt on CathoUc questions — Criticises conduct iu House of
Lords — Left out of second Administration — Pitt took care no loss —
Grateful letter of Auckland.
Pitt was never married, but he had one love story, very
interesting from the character of the man, from its
curious history, and from its quite isolated and excep
tional position in his life.
He had given himself up whoUy to public life and
its absorbing demands, and there he was cold, distant,
haughty, proud. But in private life he was quite a dif
ferent man. He enjoyed the society and companionship

I. e <r/tr' // (j /ta-n.(i. /'( i//c //.:

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 281
of the small circle of his intimate associates. He shone
in conversation, and was one of the most agreeable at
their meetings. He would then entirely unbend and lay
aside aU the austerity and severity of his demeanour
and manner. No one could be gayer or wittier or more
playful on those occasions. He won the love, admira
tion and constancy of his friends. He was a most
fascinating companion, made to be loved.^ He plunged
heedlessly into the mirth of the hour, with no other
care than to promote the general good humour and
happiness of the company.^ He was the life and soul
of his own society. His appearance dispeUed aU care.
His brow was never clouded, and joy and hope and
confidence beamed from his countenance.^ The Bishop
of Lincohi has even preserved a pun which he once
made.* His lifelong friend Wilberforce says that he
was the wittiest man he ever knew. He was devoted
to his family, and wrote frequently to his mother,
showing the keenest interest in aU her domestic affairs,
and extending to her a large measure of his confidence.
He was the best of brothers and of uncles, ever kind to
inferiors and dependents, a warm friend and fuU of
feeling for those in distress ; he must have had a good
heart and a fund of sympathy in his nature which
enabled him to win the devotion of those who knew
him best. There never was a whisper against the
1 Sidmouth's Life, i. 151. ^ Lord WeUesley.
^ Dia/ries and Correspondence of Eight Hon. G. Rose, ii. 293.
^ Pretyman MSS, ' Lord Onslow told me, December 6, 1821, a pun
of Mr. Pitt's. At the time when the City Volunteer companies "were
formed, Mr. Pitt was told one day at table that the Custom House
of&cers had embodied themselves. Mr. Pitt replied, " I am very glad of
that ; they are aU Csesars (seizors) to a man ! " '

232 PITT
correctness of his hfe. ' From the passion which
generaUy exercises the most tyrannical dominion over
the young, he possessed an immunity which is probably
to be ascribed partly to his temperament and partly to
his situation. His constitution was feeble ; he was very
shy ; and he was very busy. The strictness of his
morals furnished such buffoons as Peter Pindar and
Captain Morris with an inexhaustible theme for merri
ment of no very delicate kind.' ^
During his visit to France, in 1783, there appears
to have been some kind of a rumour about a possible
marriage between him and MademoiseUe Necker.
They met at Fontainebleau, but how often, or how far
their acquaintance tended towards intimacy, it is now
hard to say.
Whether Pitt ever reaUy thought of it, we can only
guess. There were many worldly reasons to make such
a union appear suitable to his friends. She was
wealthy, clever, young, attractive and Protestant, the
daughter of a great French statesman. The idea must
have reached some development, for amongst the papers
of Madame Necker was found a letter ^ to her daughter,
written probably at the end of 1783, intended to be
given to her after her death.
' Je desirais que tu gpousasses Mr. Pitt. J'aurais voulu te
mettre dans le sein d'un epoux d'un grand caractSre ; je voulais
aussi avoir un gendre a qui je pusse confier le soin de ton
pauvre pSre, et qui sentit le prix de ce d6p6t. Tu n'as pas
voulu me donner cette satisfaction. Bh bien, tout est par-
donne si tu rends d, ton p6re et a toi-meme tout ce que j'atten-
dais de cette union.
' Macaulay, Essay on W, Pitt.
* Le Salon de Madame Necker, par le Vieomte de HaussonviUe, ii. 56.

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 233
' Multiplies-toi pour produire des distractions que I'Angle
terre, l'etat d'un gendre et les affaires auraient pu donner a ton
pSre.' The daughter, however, appears to have been quite
of a different way of thinking : ^
' Pourquoi faut-il qu© cette malheureuse Angleterre ait d#-
velopp6 contre moi la roideur et la froideur de Maman? He
maudite, source presente de mes craintes, source S, venir de
mes remords, pourquoi faut-il que toutes ces offres briUantes
soient venues m'oter le droit de me plaindre de mon sort, et
le rendre cependant plus malheureux ? Faut-il qu'elles soient
venu©s m'obliger & choisir, k vouloir ce que j'aurais tant aime
qu'on me for9at de faire, et me plonger dans une incertitude
si terrible qu'il n'y a pas un argument qui ne soit combattu
par I'autre ?
' Je n'ai pas varie anterieurement, parce qu'un mouvement
du cceur m'entraine, mais seule, agitee, effraySe — Ah ! e'en est
fait, je ne puis aller en Angleterre.'
The idea would not appear to have much attracted
the attention of Pitt's companions during his French
visit, for Wilberforce,^ in his ' Sketch of Pitt,' written
in ]821, referring to this time, only cursorily refers to
the subject : ' At Paris, in October 1783, or immediately
afterwards, it was suggested to the late Lord Camden
by Mr. Walpole, a particular friend of M. Necker, that
if Mr. Pitt should be disposed to offer his hand to
Mademoiselle Necker, afterwards Madame de Stael,
such was the respect entertained for him by Monsieur
and Madame Necker that he had no doubt the proposal
would be accepted.' ^
' Le Salon de Madame Necker, par le Vieomte de HaussonvUle, ii. 60.
Extract of Journal of MademoiseUe Necker.
^ Private Papers of William Wilberforce. Fisher Unwin, 1897.
^ In the Life of Wilberforce, i. 39, the episode is stated thus : ' It

234 PITT
It is obvious that Wilberforce was not in the confi
dence of the young lady, and probably Pitt kept his
own thoughts on the subject to himself. The incident,
whatever were its exact dimensions, made no impression
on him, and did not seriously enter into his life.
In one of his letters to WUberforce, Pitt wrote :
' The better part of love, as well as of valour, is discre
tion ; ' and he may have shown his discretion by doing
nothing. Pitt appears never to have really thought of marriage
until some time in 1796, when he was in his thirty-
eighth year, and when he had been constantly meeting
Eleanor Eden at her father's house, Eden Farm, which
was in the neighbourhood of Holwood. He was a
frequent visitor, and had probably known her from her
childhood. She was the eldest daughter of Lord
Auckland, a constant correspondent of Pitt on a great
variety of pubhc subjects, who had employed him in
Paris, and raised him first to the Irish, and then to the
English peerage.
Pitt had got into a habit of spenduig many of his
short and hard-earned holidays there, finding it no
doubt much more cheerful and bright than his own
Holwood, where he lived quite alone.
She was a handsome and winning girl, fuU of life
and inteUigence and sympathy, just twenty — over eigh-
was hinted to Pitt, through the intervention of Horace Walpole, that he
would be an acceptable suitor for the daughter of the celebrated Necker.'
Necker is said to have offered to endow his daughter with a fortune of
14,000Z. per aimum, but Mr. Pitt replied, ' I am already married to my
country.' It is most improbable that Pitt ever uttered melodramatic
words of this kind, and the passage reads like mere gossip.

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 235
teen years younger than Pitt. There was everything
to attract him to her, and to make him look forward to
his visits to Eden Farm as a deUghtful contrast to the
rest of his hard-worked and anxious life. There was
much also to attract Eleanor Eden to Pitt. His por
traits aU tend to show that as a young man he had a
distinguished appearance and striking and impressive
face. At thirty-eight he was still comparatively young,
and had aU the charms of voice and manner, and fame.
She must have known him aU through her life. She
never heard his name spoken of save with reverence,
respect and admiration ; and when he singled her out
for his special notice, and in his visits to Eden Farm
walked and talked with her, one can well understand
how pleased and flattered she must have been. And
when he spoke to her with that exquisitely modulated
silver voice, which had commanded the House of
Commons and swayed it from his early manhood, which
had dealt with great topics on great occasions, and
when she realised that that voice was now being used
to please her, she must have been moved. His whole
career, too, was so striking, so dramatic ; he had fought
such great fights against such great men — his courage
was so splendid ; and then he was so delicate, his life
was so lonely. Was there not much to win the sympathy
and the regard of a generous girl ? Was there not much
to help to win her love ?
He had no confidant : there was much solitariness in
his life. The story of this one episode in his career can
be told but imperfectly. It is not known exactly how
and when it began. One of the earliest references to it

236 PITT
is in a letter ^ dated December 6, 1796, to Lord Auck
land : ' The question I ask Lady Auckland I want soon
answered, for I have letter after letter to say how
pleased everybody is with the intended marriage of our
Minister to your chere fille.'
Edmund Burke ^ also, writing to Mrs. Crewe the
same month, makes a humorous aUusion to the rumour :
' The talk of the town is of a marriage between a
daughter of Lord Auckland and Mr. Pitt, and that our
statesman, our premier des hommes, will take his Eve
from the Garden of Eden.'
No doubt rumours were circulating, and the parents
were anxious at their increase and persistency. There
had never before been in England an unmarried Prime
Minister of thirty-eight, apparently paying attention to
a handsome girl, and there never was a more bona
fide occasion for rumours. Lord Auckland thought it
prudent to write to his intimate friend, John Beresford :
» Eden Farm : Dec. 22, 1796.
My dear Beresford, — We are all well here, and 1 will take
the occasion to add a few words of a private and confidential
kind. Tou may probably have seen or heard by letters or
report of an intended marriage between Mr. Pitt and my eldest
daughter. You know me too well to suppose that, if it were
so, I should have remained silent. The truth is, she is hand
some and possessed of sense far superior to the ordinary pro
portion of the world. They see much of each other, they
' Auckland Correspondence.
' Correspondence of Edmund Burke, iv. 417. Mrs. Crewe, after
wards Lady Crewe, like the celebrated Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
presided over a great poUtical salon. She was a beautiful woman, whose
Ukeness was painted by Sir Joshua Eeynolds. Madame D'Arblay said
of her ' she ugUfies everything near her.'
' Auckland Correspondence, ui. 369.

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 237
converse much together, and I really believe they have senti
ments of mutual esteem ; but I have no reason to think that ifc
goes further on the part of either ; nor do I suppose it is likely
ever to go further.
Let me hear from you, and
Believe me, ever affectionately yours, Auckland.
Beresford, with infinite discretion, replied : ^
Dec. 27, 1796.
I certainly heard of the report which you mention, and saw
it in the newspapers. Lord Oamden has more than once asked
me if I knew anything about it. I answered, as I shall con
tinue to do, that I knew nothing about it.
Pitt had intended to spend Christmas at Eden Farm,
but was prevented by public business. He, however,
spent a good part of the Christmas recess there, and
then he and Eleanor Eden must have begun to realise
what their feelings towards each other were, or might
become. This episode in Pitt's life is shortly referred to in the
' Auckland Correspondence ' and in Stanhope's ' Life of
Pitt,' but in a very meagre and incomplete way.
In the former it was darkly said that there were
several 'painful' letters, while Lord Stanhope refers
generaUy to the contents of the letters, the purport of
which he would appear to have known, but he thought
the correspondence was in the hands of the Auckland
family. Pitt plainly, when he left Eden Farm in January
1797, reluctantly and painfuUy made up his mind that
there should be no proposal and no marriage. He
' Beresford Correspondence, ii. 143.

238 PITT
wrote two long letters to Lord Auckland on the subject,
and those letters were returned by Lord Auckland to
Pitt. A letter of Lord Auckland's is missing, but the
whole correspondence is comprised in these two stately
letters from Pitt to Lord Auckland, the draft of these
letters in Pitt's own writing, and a final long letter from
Lord Auckland.
Bishop Tomline contemplated, as appears from his
preface, a further volume, ' for which,' he says, ' I
reserve what relates to Mr. Pitt's private life.' He
never wrote that volume, but he plainly put away this
correspondence for subsequent use, and this may
account for Lord Stanhope not finding it. It is aU now
in the Pretyman ^ coUection of Pitt's papers at Orwell
Park, and, while it wiU be read with deep interest, its
publication wiU dispel the impression that there was
anything ' painful ' or needing any mystery or conceal
ment in what passed. There was nothing unworthy,
although much to cause disappointment, in the inci
dent. The following letter ^ came as a complete surprise
to Lord Auckland. It is certainly a very remarkable
document, written obviously after much anxious thought,
and with much painful deliberation, but without a
particle of hesitation in its purpose. The draft shows
the strong wish to leave no doubt, and to convey that,
having made up his mind, he would not falter :
^ It is now in the possession of Mr. Ernest Pretyman, M.P., the
owner of Orwell Park, Ipswich, who is the great grandson of the Bishop.
* Pretyman MSS.

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 239
[Most Private] Downing Street : ' January 20, 1797.
My dear Lord, — Altho' the anxious expectation of public
business would at all events have made it difficult for me to
leave town during the last ten days, you may perhaps have
begun to think that it cannot have been the only reason which
has kept me so long from Beckenham. The truth is, that I
have felt it impossible to allow myself to yield to the tempta
tion of returning thither without having (as far as might
depend upon me) formed a decision on a point which I am
sensible has remained in suspension too long already. Having
at l©ngth done so, I should feel myself inexcusable if (painful
as the task is) any consideration prevented me from opening
myself to you without reserve. It can hardly, I think, be
necessary to say that the time I have passed among your
family has led to my forming sentiments of very real attach
ment towards them all, and of much more than attachment
towards one whom I need not name. Nor should I do justice
to my own feelings, or explain myself as frankly as I think I
ought to do, if I did not own that every hour of my acquaint
ance with the person to whom you will easily conceive T refer
has served to augment and confirm that impression ; in short,
has convinced me that whoever may have the good fortune ever
to be united to her is destined to more than his share of human
happiness. Whether, at any rate, I could have had any ground to hope
that such might have been my lot, I am in no degree entitled
to guess. I hav© to reproach myself for ever having indulged
the idea on my own part as far as I have done without asking
myself carefully and early enough what were the difficulties in
the way of its being realised. I have suffered myself to over
look them too long, but having now at length reflected as fully
and as calmly as I am able on every circumstance that ought
to come under my consideration (at least as much for her sake
as for my own), I am compelled to say that I find the obstacles
to it decisive and insurmountable. In thus conveying to you,
my dear Lord, what has been passing in my mind, and its
^ The drafts of these two letters are preserved, and show numerous
changes and amendments.

240 PITT
painful and unavoidable result, I have felt it impossible to say
less.' And yet it would be almost a consolation to me to know
that even what I have said is superfluous, and that the idea I
have entertained has been confined solely to myself. If this
should be the case, I am sure this communication will be buried
in silence and oblivion. On any other supposition I know that
I but consult the feelings of those who must be most in my
thoughts by confiding it to your discretion. And in doing so
I have every reason to rely on your prudence, kindness, and
on those sentiments of mutual friendship which I hope will
not be affected by any change which may at the present mo
ment be unavoidable in what has lately been the habits of our
intercourse. Por myself, allow me only to add that, separated
as I must be for a time from those among whom I have passed
many of my happiest moments, the recollection of that period
will be long present to my mind. The greatest pleasure and
best consolation I can receive will be if I am enabled to prove
how deep an interest I must always take in whatever may
concem them.
They will not, I am sure, be less dear to me thro' life than
they would have had a right to expect from the nearest and
closest connection.
Believe me, my dear Lord, under all circumstances,
Ever sincerely and faithfully yours,
W. Pitt.
The reply of Lord Auckland is not forthcoming, but
it must be assumed from the next letter of Pitt that it
fairly, and in no unworthy language, pointed out that it
might be weU to consider and wait before arriving at
a final decision.
Pitt's second letter ^ was, if possible, sadder, stronger
and more decisive than the first.
' This sentence was not in the draft, which contained instead the.
words, ' It is my first duty, under the circumstances, to state to you thus
plainly the result. To enter into details would at aU events be useless.'
^ Pretyman MSS.

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 241

[Most Private] Downing Street : January 22nd, 1797, 2 p.m.
My dear Lord, — If I felt much more than I could express in
writing to you yesterday you will guess that these feelings are
all, if possible, heightened by th© natur© of your answer. I
will not attempt to describe the sense I have of your kindness
and Lady Auckland's, much less how much my mind is affected
by what you tell me of th© sentiments of another person,
unhappily too nearly interested in the subject in question. I
can only say, but it is saying everything, that that consideration
now adds to my unavailing regret as much as under different
circumstances it might have contributed to th© glory and
happiness of life.
Indeed, my dear Lord, I did not bring myself to th© step I
have taken without having, as far as I am able, again and again
considered every point which must finally govern my conduct.
I should deceive you and everyone concerned, as well as myself,
if I flattered myself with the hope that such an interval as you
suggest would remove the obstacles I have felt, or vary the
ground of my opinion.
It is impossible for me, and would be useless, to state them
at large. The circumstances of every man's private and personal
situation can often on various accounts be fully known and
fairly judged of by no one but himself, ©ven where, as in the
present case,, others may be equally interested in the result.
On the present occasion I have had too many temptations in
the opposite scales to distrust my own decision. I certainly had
to contend with sentiments in my own mind such as must
naturally be produced by a near observation of the qualities
and endowments you have described, with those of affectionate
attachment, of real admiration, and of cordial esteem and
confidence. If anything collateral could add strength to those senti
ments, they would have derived it (as you know from what I
have said alr©ady) from every circumstance, with respect to all
parts of your family, which could tend to render such a con
nection dear and valuable to my mind. Believe me, I hav© not
lightly or easily sacrificed my best hopes and earnest wishes to
B

242 PITT
my conviction and judgment. Believe me, also, further expla
nation or discussion can answer no good purpose. And let me
entreat you to spare me and yourself the pain of urging it
further. It could only lead to prolonged suspense and increased
anxiety, without the possibility of producing any ultimate
advantage. Feeling this impression thus strongly and unalterably in my
mind, I have felt it a trying but indispensable duty, for the
sake of all who are concerned, to state it (whatever it may cost
me to do so) as distinctly and explicitly as I have done.
Having done so, I have only to hope that reading this letter
will nowhere be attended with half the pain I have felt in
writing it. I remain, my dear Lord,
Ever sincerely and affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
In addition to the foregoing two letters, Pitt would
appear to have written a separate letter about office
and public affairs, for Lord Auckland, in his reply of
January 23, 1797, deals with both subjects. He plainly
had a great regard for Pitt, and a great affection for
and high opinion of his daughter, but now very natur
aUy regretted the rumours which had connected their
names together, and felt the necessity of giving some
explanation to friends who might make inquiries.
After acknowledging the receipt of the letters, he
proceeds :
Tour idea of the language to be held is consonant to what
Lady Auckland carefuUy observed previous to the Christmas
recess, not only to friends, but to the person most interested ;
till, having misconceived the matter, she no longer thought it
right to discourage the other from looking seriously to the
result. Neither the impression made nor the sentiments formed
would have been what they unhappily are if nothing had taken
place after the Christmas recess.

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 243
I doubt whether you are in any degree aware how much the
business has been observed and discussed in societies, corre
spondence and newspapers. If I alone were personally affected
by such observations and discussions, my sex and time of life
might authoris© m© to think them little pertinent, and to leave
them to their course. That, however, is far from being the
case ; nor is it possible for me, consistently with what is too well
known (when I must say anything), to confine myself to the sort
of language suggested. You know how much it has been the
habit of this family, in the undisguised cheerfulness which did
exist in it, to receive all comers in the neighbourhood and others.
You know also how regular our system of life is. Yesterday
the two of the same name * were utterly unable to quit their
apartments, or to se© fri©ndswho, being accustomed to see them
at church, called afterwards to enquire about them The
younger of the two still shows too much by her looks what has
passed in her mind to be able to appear to-day ; and there are
several persons towards whom, notwithstanding the natural
strength of her understanding, her feelings might betray them
selves at a first meeting.
Under these circumstances, the language which we purpose
to hold to the very few to whom we can bring ourselves to say
anything will be to the following effect — ' That we are much
obliged to them for the kindness they had expressed on a certain
subject, respecting which we had hitherto preserved silence —
that we, who know so well the excellent and resembling qualities
of both parties concerned, must know that a constant intercourse
would not fail to excite sentiments of mutual esteem and admira
tion, and probably even of affection ; but that these sentimentsj
whether they have existed or not, certainly will never go further :
that, being sorry to be convinced of this, we should feel it
painful to say more, and we only wish the report to be dis
couraged, with all the delicate attention due to all concerned.'
I have actually written nearly in the above words to the Arch
bishop, to Mr. Halsett, and to one of my brothers ; Lady A''
has done the same to Lady Catherine Douglas. I must also
write to Mr. Beresford, and a little more particularly to Morton
^ Lady Auckland and her eldest daughter were both caUed Eleanor.

244 PITT
Eden, and possibly there are at most two Or three others (such
as the Duke of MarP) to whom it may be necessary for us to
write. As to all conversations on the subject, I am not likely to
be exposed to them, and at any rate shall decline them.
Then, after some reference to the official letter, he
goes on :
It is most important for all our sakes to show to the public,
what I am sure will be true in fact, tho' subject to severe diffi
culties in practice, that there remains an undiminished friendship
between us two at least ; and that a pleasant intercourse may in
time be revived between our families, tho' suspended for the
moment certainly with great abruptness.
And the letter closes with : —
Believe me, my d"" sir,
Ever sincerely and affect'^ yours, A---
Certainly Pitt's action had been abrupt. If he had
allowed his feelings fuU play, and continued his court
ship, he might have won a fair and honoured wife, who
would have worthily shared his honours and divided
his cares. It is not recorded whether Pitt ever again met or
spoke to Eleanor Eden. He had no confidant. He
never wrote or spoke on the subject,^ and, as far as is
known, neither did she.
' ' Lady Hester said this nearly broke Pitt's heart, but Lady Hester's
statements do not impress me with conviction ' (Eosebery's Pitt, p. 265).
It is most improbable that Pitt spoke much, if at all, to Lady Hester
Stanhope on the subject. She was not Uving with him imtU some years
after. She remained at Chevening untU 1800, when she went to reside at
Burton Pynsent with her grandmother. Lady Chatham. This brought her
more into communication with him, and in a letter of AprU 19 1801 she
says : ' Oh, deUghtfal ! charmmg I This evening's post has not only brought
me your letter, but a volume fi^om Mr. Pitt. ... He appears to be^so

PUTS ONE LOVE STORY 245
Her father wrote ^ to Mr. Hugh Eliott two years
later, announcing her engagement to. Lord Hobart :
Palace Yard : AprU 30, 1799.
My dear Eliott, — Your excellent sister has written a letter
to me, and 1 have contrived to mislay it, and she is not present
to write another. The chief purport of it was that Lord Hobart
is to marry our eldest daughter, who is a very beautiful and
good creature, with every advantage of a strong mind and right
principles. This event has overjoyed us, for there never was a
marriage which promised so much happiness.
Ever affectionately yours,
Auckland.
happy and well, for he says that what with the luxury of Uving with
his friends, and the improvement in public affairs, his only apprehension
vyill be that of growing too fat for horseman's weight, at least as a com
panion in my rides. I certainly shall do much wiser to keep to my
Intention of seeing a good deal of him this summer, than allow myself
to be hitched into the dissipation of a camp, instead of enjoying his
society, firom which I shall derive much more rational pleasure and more
profit. How instinct taught me to love this " Great Man " ! and if I
had not kept sight of him at a distance, what would have become of us
aU ? He means to come here in the summer.' The Duchess of Cleve
land, in her Life of Lady Hester, also says : ' Her kind grandmother
had died in AprU 1803, and Burton Pynsent had passed to her elder
uncle. Lord Chatham, who had taken charge of his other niece, the
orphaned Harriot EUot. All her hope, therefore, was in Mr. Pitt. My
father once told me that some time before, when talking of his sister to
Mr. Pitt, he had asked him, " What is to become of Hester when Lady
Chatham dies ? " and after a pause Mr. Pitt replied, " Under no circum
stances could I offer her a home in my own house." The plan thus
suggested was distinctly distasteful to him. It implied the breaking up
of aU his habits, and a total change in his mode of Ufe, with the disturb
ing presence of a vivacious and impetuous niece, of whom till then he
had seen very Uttle. Yet when the emergency arose, he never for a
moment hesitated. . . . His door was at once opened to her, and he
welcomed her to his house as her permanent abode.' It is therefore
manifest that, at the time of his romance, Pitt was not very intimate
with Lady Hester ; and there is nothing in his correspondence to show
that he ever referred to the subject to anyone. Any speculations of
Lady Hester on the subject must therefore be receiyed with some
caution. ^ Auckland Correspondence, iv. 96.

246 PITT
Pitt was made acquainted byLordAuckland, through
Mr. Addington, with the intended marriage, and his
letter ^ of congratulation was perfectly cahn and un
emotional :
[Private] Downing St. : Tuesday night.
My dear Lord, — I have heard from the Speaker the circum
stance which you desired him to mention, and give you many
thanks for your very kind attention in making the communica
tion and in making him the channel of it. There could be no
event interesting to any part of your family which would not be
so to me, and certainly this is not the instance where I feel that
sentiment the least.
I congratulate you and all around you with the most cordial
good wishes. Ever affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
Eleanor Eden became, on the succession of her
husband. Countess of Buckinghamshire, and died in
1851 without issue.
This is the one ^ romantic episode of Pitt's life. He
did not explicitly give his reasons for his conduct :
probably considerations of health as weU as of fortune
had weight with him.
Lord Auckland did not concur with Pitt on the
Catholic question, and criticised his resignation in 1801.^
' Auckland Correspondence, iv. 96.
^ ' Lord HoUand, an indifferent authority on this subject, says that
Pitt paid attention to Miss Duncan, who was afterwards Lady Dalrymple
HamUton. But there seems no further confirmation of this statement '
(Pitt, by Lord Eosebery).
' In the House of Lords he said that there was something behind
he could not understand, that there must be some mysterious motive,
since without explanation ' the resignation looked like a general getting
into a post-chaise and leaving his army in the middle of a battle.' The
speech was talked of everywhere (Malmesbury's Diary and Corre
spondence, iv. 49).

PITT'S ONE LOVE STORY 247
Pitt was dissatisfied with the public action of Lord
Auckland during Addington's Administration, and
therefore felt bound to leave him out of his Government
in 1804, but he took care that this should not entail
any pecuniary loss on the latter. Lord Auckland was
already, as appears from the following letter ^ from Pitt,
not ungenerously treated :
Downing Street : Tuesday, May 18, 1790.
My dear Lord, — I am happy that I have it at length in my
power to relieve you from the long suspense in which you have
remained, and to mention to you a new alternative which is
just become practicable, and which I hope will be satisfactory
to you. By the death of Lord Hardwicke, a reversion of the
Tellership of th© Exchequer is open, and I have the King's
permission to offer it to you, either for yourself or, what I
imagine you will prefer, for either of your sons. Till this should
come into possession, you will of course remain entitled under
the former assurances (as far as they can operate) to the Con
tingent pension of £2,000 per annum to yourself in case of your
ceasing to be employed, and I will take care to have the assur
ances renewed on the present occasion. On this ground I flatter
myself th© arrangement will ultimately prove at least as
beneficial to your family as that which unforeseen difficulties
have frustrated. . . . Yours most sincerely,
W. Pitt.
The further arrangement which Pitt made to safe
guard the pecuniary position of Auckland on leaving
him out of the Government in 1804 appears to have
commanded the gratitude of the latter, for he wrote at
once the following cordial letter : ^
' Auckland Papers, British Museum Add. MSS. 29475, f. 31.
" Stanhope's Life of Pitt, iv. 231.

248 PITT Eden Farm : Deo. 18, 1804.
My dear Sir, — Having learnt from the Treasury that the
warrants which you had recommended in consequence of my
quitting the Post Office are now in a state of completion, I should
be dissatisfied with myself if I omitted to express a warm and
grateful sense of your kindness and favour shown to me during
a long course of years, and on many occasions, both public and
domestic. That kindness is more especially felt in the present
instance, as its effects may be eventually material to the person
whose interests you know to be justly dear to me beyond all
worldly considerations.
Permit me to add that whatever may have been the mis
conceptions or the causes of grievance, real or imaginary, on either
part, I now consent, and think it right that, in the comparative
infirmities of human nature, the whole should be charged to my
side of the account. But let it be understood, on the other
hand, that I have ever preserved the same affection towards you
without interruption, and in all times and circumstances. Nor
have I ever ceased to reflect, with a mixture of fair pride,
pleasure and regret, that so many of the happiest days of my
life have been passed in your conversation and society.
Ever affectionately and sincerely yours, Auckland.
It is pleasant to note from the whole tone of the
letter that the incident of a few years before had left no
painful or unpleasant impression.

Zf.^^&fHUiim'.f-iKix^-

«^,^). f '.-w^/-y.-

€/^

249

CHAPTER VIII
LORD CLARE
Conspicuous figure in Irish public life — Froude's description — Birth-
Education — Bar — Attorney-General — M.P. — Stern opposition to
Volunteers' Reform BiU — Napper Tandy and Convention — Fitz
gibbon's courage — Pitt's caution— DubUn High Sheriff— Attachment
in King's Bench — Attacked in ParUament — Regency debates, 1789
— Irish ParUament differed from EngUsh — Possible Constitutional
complications — Fitzgibbon's boldness — the Prince ' a most determined
Irishman ' — Round Robin — Denounced by Fitzgibbon — Pitt writes to
thank Fitzgibbon — This helps Fitzgibbon to ChanceUorship — Rutland
had been resolute for it — His vridow now helps — Fitzgibbon makes
enrious speech about Catholic concessions in 1793 — Letter to Pitt —
Opposed FitzwilUam — Letter to Westmoreland— Dislike to Curran —
Courage and eloquence of Curran — Sir R. Abercromby — Clare against
— Pitt's letter — Kindness to poUtical opponents — Clare to Auckland
on Union — His anti-Catholic feeling — Union did not add to fame or
advantage — Irksome to him — Abbot's opinion of him — Pelham —
Charles P. Sheridan — Pelham signs dissent from his own Cabinet —
Vicissitudes of his estimation — and ofBcial positions — Abbot's circular
to Irish departments — Clare's violent letters to Pelham — Estimation
of Clare — His death — His fortune — His wUl — His widow asks for
pension — Pelham dropped by Pitt in 1804 — Pitt's gift of doing
unpleasant things gracefully — Letter to Duke of York — Pelham
offered stick of Yeomen of the Guard.
One of the most conspicuous figures in Irish public life
from 1780 until his death in 1802 was John Fitzgibbon,
subsequently Lord Fitzgibbon and Earl of Clare.
He was a man of great eloquence, power, and force
of character. Froude describes him as ' a smaU,
delicately made man, with a handsome oval face, a bold
grey eye, and a manner so haughty that patriot

250 PITT
members complained of his intolerable insolence.' His
figure was slender and not robust, but his whole Ufe
shows he was a man of unshrinking boldness and iron
courage. He had many attractive gifts, and Sir Jonah
Barrington, a most unfriendly critic, says that although
he was ' authoritative and peremptory in his address,
commanding aU, and arrogant in his language,' yet ' in
domestic life he had many meritorious and some amiable
qualities : an indefatigable and active friend, and kind
and affectionate master, an indulgent landlord, hberal,
hospitable and munificent, he possessed the seed of
quahties very superior to those which he cultivated.'
This remarkable man was born at Donnybrook, near
Dublin, in 1748, the son of John Fitzgibbon, Q.C, of
Mount Shannon, in the county Limerick. He was
educated at Trinity CoUege, Dublin, was the class-
fellow of Grattan, and his constant rival and competitor
for prizes.-^ He was caUedto the Bar on June 19, 1772,
and went the Munster Circuit, where Curran and
Yelverton were his contemporaries. He got on rapidly
at the Bar, and in 1778 became Member for Dublin
University,^ and was soon a prominent figure in the
Irish House of Commons. He was appointed Attorney-
General in 1783, during the Viceroyalty of Lord North-
ington, and with the fuU approval of Grattan, who was
then and for some time after on friendly terms with
him. In the same year he signahsed himself by his stern
opposition to Flood's Eeform BiU, brought in at the
' He afterwards entered Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated
M.A. in 1770.
^ In 1783 he became Member for KihnaUock.

LORD CLARE 251
bidding of the Volunteers. His standpoint was as
resolute as his language : ' I will oppose it, because it
comes under the mandate of a turbulent military con
gress. ... I do not consider life worth holding at the
wiU of an armed demagogue.' A man with his strength
of character, nerve, and power of command, naturally
wielded enormous influence. His biographer ^ records :
' He was the pivot on which aU the movements of the
Castle turned, the centre from which all its schemes
and designs radiated ; his words were strong as written
law with successive Administrations. . . . His wiU was
the law of seven Governments ; he ruled in every
Department with unbounded activity — in the Lords, the
Privy Council and the Chancery Court.'
In the year 1784 he showed great personal and official
courage in deaUng with the summons to hold a National
Convention or Congress. Napper Tandy had with
great boldness directed the Sheriffs to summon meetings
for the election of delegates for the Convention. The
Irish Government regarded the matter with some
anxiety, and it is fuUy discussed in their correspon
dence. Pitt ^ saw the danger of permitting the meeting,
but, in giving his views to Orde, took care to draw the
distinction clearly between Constitutional and un
warrantable meetings. Fitzgibbon deemed it necessary
to take prompt and resolute action to stop the conven
tion or make its holding worthless. Some of the
Sheriffs had done nothing, and were hesitating as to
their action, but Eeilly, the High Sheriff" of Dublin, had
' O'Flanagan's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland i. 174,
quoting from The Notebook of an Irish Barrister,
" Bolton MSS., Pitt to Orde, September 25, 1784.

252 PITT
summoned the freeholders to meet to elect delegates.
Fitzgibbon at once wrote to him : ' In summoning the
freeholders and freemen of your bailiwick to meet for
such a purpose, you have been guilty of a most out
rageous breach of your duty ; if you proceed to hold it,
you are responsible for it to the laws of your country,
and I shaU hold myself bound, as the King's Attorney-
General, to prosecute you in the Court of King's Bench
for your conduct, which I consider so highly criminal
that I cannot overlook it.' Eeilly scoff'ed at the threat,
caUed the meeting,^ and was amusing the audience with
reading Fitzgibbon's letter, when the latter walked into
the room, and then and there he repeated to those
present that he would call the Sheriff" to account if he
proceeded with the business. Eeilly was overawed, and
the meeting dispersed. Think of a law-officer of
to-day taking an active, personal, police part in assert
ing his view of the law ! Fitzgibbon would not let the
matter rest, but moved in the Court of King's Bench
for an attachment against EeiUy as an officer who had
abused his commission. The judges upheld the views
of Fitzgibbon, for which they were themselves attacked
in the House of Commons^ by Curran and others.
Pitt thought the whole matter one of ' great dehcacy
and caution,' but such were not Fitzgibbon's methods
when he. had strong views. The Duke of Eutland
thanked him for his ' manly and spirited conduct,' and
conveyed to him the King's ' entire approbation of his
conduct.' ' Froude, EngUsh in Ireland, book vu. p. 417.
^ A motion of censure was moved by Lord Charles Fitzgerald, but
was rejected by 143 to 71.

LORD CLARE 263
In the debates on the Eegency Bill in 1789 Fitz
gibbon behaved with his usual courage and consistency.
There were many notable examples then in public life
of men who felt an anxiety to stand weU with the Prince,
who might soon have such great power. As is well
known, a large majority in the Irish Parliament sup
ported Fox's view against Pitt's, and desired, regardless
of what had been done in England, to recognise the
Prince's inherent right to the Eegency.
Pitt's resolutions were carried in the EngUsh House
of Commons on January 16, 1789, and communicated
in the foUowing month to the Irish House of Commons,
who promptly passed a resolution that an Address,
entirely at variance with the English precedent, be
presented to the Prince of Wales, requesting him to
undertake the Government.
The seriousness of the attitude did not turn on the
consideration of which Parliament was more Constitu-
tionaUy accurate, but on the fact that in such a question
as the Eegency the Irish Parliament had asserted and
exercised a right to take entirely independent action.
Mr. Lecky considers that it was ' the greatest political
error of Grattan's life.' Fitzgibbon nailed his colours
to the mast, and spoke with unshrinking boldness
against what were known to be the Prince's views, and
denounced the proposal as ' contrary to common and
statute law, and highly criminal, not only improper but
treasonable.' He put it boldly : ' Gentlemen who profess
themselves advocates for the independence of the Irish
Crown are advocates for its separation from England.'
The Prince showed his feelings by sending a message to

254 PITT
Grattan through Pelham : ' Tell Grattan that I am a
most determined Irishman.'
The Lord-Lieutenant would not forward the Address,
and the King recovered, but the incident had probably
a great eff'ect on Fitzgibbon's fortunes.
A rumour got about that all places and pensions
held by Members of Parliament in opposition, at the
pleasure of the Crown, were to be taken from them in
consequence of voting the Eegency Address, and this
was at once resented in a Eound Eobin signed by fifty-
six members, that if anyone was made ' the victim of
his vote ' they would not accept his office or pension.
Fitzgibbon at once denounced this confederacy : ^ ' I
have heard that the spirit of Whiteboyism has found its
way into this city, and that injurious and dishonest
combinations have taken place. I do not now speak of
the combinations of the journeymen pin-makers, who
have suff'ered in Newgate for their offences : I speak
of other combinations, which, had they been entered
into against a tithe proctor, the combining parties, by
laws of their own making, would be condemned to be
whipped at a cart-tail.' It is impossible to conceive
language more strong and contemptuous.
Pitt was impressed by Fitzgibbon's bold and loyal
attitude on the Eegency question, and wrote to him the
following letter : ^ Downing Street : Feb. 23, 1789.
Dear Sir, — t cannot help troubling you with these few lines
to express the strong sense which I am sure every true friend
to Great Britain and Ireland must entertain of obligation to you
^ O'Flanagan's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland, ii. 189.
^ DubUn University Magazine, xxx. 682.

LORD CLARE 265
in the present critical conjuncture, for the stand you have made
in support of these principles, on which the safety of all for
centuries so essentially depends. Allow me to add how happy
I feel personally at such a moment in being embarked in the
same boat with you, and to assure you of in every circum
stance a grateful recollection of th© support and cr©dit which
the cause of our Government has received from your exertions,
I am, with great regards, dear sir,
Your obedient and faithful servant,
W. Pitt.
This good opinion of Pitt no doubt operated in
favour of Fitzgibbon when the death of Lord Liff"ord, a
few months later, left the Lord Chancellorship vacant.
When, three years before. Lord Liffbrd was said to be
dying, Orde had broached the topic to the Duke of
Eutland as to a successor, and, not liking to lose Fitz
gibbon's immense aid in the House of Commons, sug
gested that Baron Eyre, an English judge, might be
temporarily appointed. But Eutland would not listen
to anything of the kind, and replied ^ with decision ; ' I
shaU not be satisfied to see Fitzgibbon's objects even
postponed. I love the man. He has stood by me, I
must stand by him. . . This opinion is final. As I before
informed you, he is on the verge of matrimony.' Fitz
gibbon was just going to be married to Miss Whaley,
sister of the celebrated and eccentric Buck Whaley.
Some mention, however, of an English judge was
again made, when Eutland wrote, if possible, more
resolutely to Orde : ' I must stand my ground on the
subject of the Irish Chancellorship. . . . I cannot sacri-
1 Bolton MSS,, Eutland to Orde, June 13, 1786. See also, under date
of June 8, 1786, letter in Hist, MSS, Com,, 'Rutland Correspondence,'
iu. 307.

256 PITT
fice Fitzgibbon. He deserves all I can give him, and I
shall ffing every obstacle in the way of any arrangement
which is to preclude him.' Orde was plainly against
the appointment, and said that Pitt was also. Beresford,
himself an Irishman, and a personal friend of Fitz
gibbon, was also opposed to it. The question, however,
had to stand over, for Lord LiS"ord did not die until
1789, when Fitzgibbon's services and loyalty on the
Eegency question had to be placed to his credit, and,
notwithstanding the opposition of Thurlow, he was ap
pointed Lord Chancellor, being commonly ^ deemed the
first Irishman appointed to that office. He had a
staunch friend in the Duchess of Eutland, and was also
supported by the Viceroy, Lord Buckingham.^ He was
at the same time created Baron Fitzgibbon, and had
the honour of receiving an involved letter from Thurlow,
who in complicated sentences cleverly mingled con
gratulations and apologies.
In 1793 the Address in reply to the Viceroy's speech,
which was largely in favour of Catholic rehef, was
adopted, having been seconded by Arthur WeUesley
(WelUngton). It was foUowed by a wide measure,
' Of course, many of the Ecclesiastical ChanceUors were Irishmen,
and several of the lay ChanceUors were Anglo-Irish. Brodrick and Cox,
who were ChanceUors in the early part of the eighteenth century, belonged
to famUies settled in Ireland for two or three generations, and Jocelyn
was also a member of the Irish Bar.
^ This is stated strongly in O'Flanagan's Lives of the Lord Chancel
lors of Ireland, ii. 200 ; but at an earUer date Lord Buckingham held
the opposite view, for in a letter to Pitt, written in November (1785 ?), he
says : ' I know (and I beg to recommend it to your most serious attention)
that you should run every risque rather than appoint an Irishman to that
station.' He was then also dealing with the suggestion to appoint Fitz
gibbon if Lord Lifford died at the time (Pretyman MSS,),

LORD CLARE 257
aboUshing many disabilities and conferring the fran
chise on Catholics. On this occasion Fitzgibbon, then
Lord ChanceUor, made a curious speech for an official,
strongly against the policy of concession. His views
were always resolutely anti-Catholic, and on May 14
of that year he wrote ^ strongly to Pitt on the pro
ceedings of the Catholic Convention : Dublin: May 14, 1793.
Dear Sir, — I am confident that you will forgive me for
troubling you upon a subject on which I had the honour of
some communication with you when I was last at London.
Lord Westmoreland has, I presume, apprised you of the
proceedings of th© Catholic Convention at their last meeting,
that they declared their intention to unite their efforts with the
friends of Parliamentary reform, and voted to Mr. Butler the
precise sum in which he had been fined for libelling th© House
of Lords. However strongly these circumstances mark their
dispositions towards the Established Government, one other
vote of money which they passed will, I hope, explain to you
fully and unequivocably that I am not mistaken in the opinion
which I submitted to you, that their ultimate object is to
separate this country from Great Britain.
They have voted £1,500 to a Mr. Tone — who is their Cabinet
Minister and adviser — who first proposed an alliance between
the Puritans and Catholics, and whose great object will be ex
plained to you by the paper which I have the honour to enclose
to you much better than by any comment of mine upon the
subject. This gentleman has been called to our Bar. H© is
the son of a Dublin tradesman, and has th© merit of being
the founder of the Society of United Irishmen. He was also
the original projector of the Catholic Convention, drew up the
circular letter issued in the course of the last summer in the
name of Mr. Edward Byrne, and composes most of the seditious
and treasonable libels which are put forth by the Society of
United Irishmen.
Th© paper which I enclos© to you is also one of his com-
' Pretyman MSS. S

258 PITT
position. It was written early in the summer of 1791, and
privately circulated by him amongst his confidential friends at
Dublin and Belfast. The first part of it contains the first
declaration of the Society of United Irishmen, and was printed
and distributed by them on their first formation. The latter
part, you will see, contains his private opinion of the means
necessary to be pursued to carry the main object.
This gentleman at present is the confidential agent and
adviser of the men who govern the whole body of the Roman
Catholics. They have already paid him very large sums of
money, and concluded their last sitting by voting him a further
sum of £1,500. Mr. Tone is also a very great friend and inti
mate of a young gentleman whose name I mentioned to you
very lately, and whose connections certainly ought to guard
him against such a companion.
I have the honour to be, my dear sir, with great truth and
respect, your faithful and most humble servant, Fitzgibbon.
The Bt. Hon. W. Pitt.
FitzwiUiam did his best to get rid of Fitzgibbon,
but Pitt and his other coUeagues would not hear of it.
As might be expected from his character and the cir
cumstances of the position, Fitzgibbon was strongly
against FitzwiUiam, as is stated in the chapter dealing
with his unfortunate viceroyalty, and as appears very
fully in the ' Beresford Correspondence.'
The following letter^ of Clare to Westmoreland,
written on the day of FitzwiUiam's departure, is
characteristic and very — too outspoken :
[Private] DubUn : March 25, 1795.
My dear Lord, — This day His Excellency Lord Fitzwilliam
took his departure from Ireland, having left behind him the
legacy which I now enclose to your Lordship. Immediately
• Westmoreland Papers, State Paper OflBce, Dublin Castle. See Lecky,
vii. 95.

LORD CLARE 259
upon his intimation to me that he meant to retire from his
govemment, he stated his opimon to be that he ought to
embark privately. In this opinion I concurred ©ntirely, and
offered him my house at the Black Rock for any time that he
might chuse to make use of it ; at that time I understood it was
his intention to hav© accepted the offer. Howev©r, he was induced
to alter his determination, and this day, after a crowded levee,
he set off in procession from the Castle at one o'clock. Every
thing was perfectly quiet, not ev©n a hiss from the mob in the
streets addressed to any of the men who followed him. At the
College a set of fellows who had been planted there took his
horses from his coach, and drew him from there to the Pidgeon
House, much to the annoyance of Lord FitzwiUiam, who, I was
told, got into histericks. After he had got into the boat which
conveyed him to the yacht, he waved his hat and bowed most
graciously to the ponies who had given him a set-down to th©
Pidg©on House, and so the ceremony ended. He intended to
hav© gon© away on Monday, but th© Commissions for giving
th© Royal assent to the Bill were so drawn that Lords Justices
could not have acted on Monday. He sent to me to inform me
of his intended departure on this day, when I stated to him that
I did suppose of course h© meant to send down a message on
the next day to both Houses of Parliament to adjourn for a
fortnight. This, however, h© peremptorily refused ; and, after
arguing with him for half-an-hour in vain, I stated my deter
mination to him explicitly not to undertake the government of
the country, if it were but for twenty-four hours, unless the
Parliament was adjourned. This, however, had not apparently
the desired effect, and I then requested of him to allow the
Primate, the Speaker, and me to wait upon him the next day
to remonstrate upon the subject, to which he consented. Before
we had arrived at the Castle Pelham had landed, and had in
vain pressed him to send down a messenger to adjourn, or even
to direct Lord Milton to make a motion to adjourn, to the 13th
of April, without the formality of a message. However, after
some argument by the Speaker and me, he consented to send
down the message, and both Houses now are adjourned to
April 13. I must presume that your Lordship has heard the
s 2

260 PITT
history of his letters to Lord Carlisle, as I see they have been
announced in the public prints. Within a few days he has
had more than fifty manuscript copies made of them by the
clerks in the different offices about the Castle, which have been
distributed openly by his orders, and I presume will soon get
into print. One copy I have been able to procure, which I
enclose to your lordship. If I could have had it transcribed
before the post went out, I meant to have sent a copy to Lord
Auckland, but, as I wish to lose no time in sending it to you,
will you have the goodness to get it transcribed for Lord Auck
land, and to send it to him in my name ? If anything were
wanting to complete the catalogue of his indiscretions since his
arrival in Ireland, this last act has certainly filled the measure
of them. So much malignity and folly and falsehood, and such
notorious violation of public trust and private faith, never have
been exhibited by any man to whom the management of a great
kingdom was committed, as the infatuated man has manifested
in these letters to his friend. Lord Carlisle. In one of them
your lordship will see he has published a very serious and im
portant passage in a private and confidential dispatch, as he
candidly states it to be, which he has received from the Duke of
Portland — a passage intimating broadly his opinion that if the
Catholic claims could be postponed for consideration till there
should be a peace they might induce the Protestants of Ireland
to consent to a union with the Parliament of England. I do
most strongly suspect that this idea was drawn out from the
Duke of Portland by Lord FitzwiUiam's representation of a con
versation which I had with him upon the subject of his Popish
projects, in which I stated to him distinctly my opinion that a
union with the Parliament of England was the only measure
which could give Great Britain a chance of preserving this
country as a member of the empire. I told him, however, that
till Great Britain was at peace, and we had a strong army in
Ireland, it would be impossible to carry such a measure, how
ever necessary it might be. He told me more than a month
since that he had reported my opinion upon this subject to the
British Parliament, and if I am founded in my conjecture that
his report of my conversation with him to the Duke of Portland

LORD CLARE 261
drew from him the private and confidential intimation which
Lord FitzwiUiam had thought thus fit to pubUsh to the world
it only aggravates the gross breach of publick trust and private
faith of which he has in this instance been guilty. Throughout
the whole of these letters there is the continued series of gross
falsehood and misrepresentation — 'That the Catholic claims
were forced upon him, and that they were pressed forward
against his inclination.' The truth is notorious that unless
thes© claims had been solicited by his friends and Ministers
Mr. O'Beime and Mr. Grattan, they would have slept in quiet.
This I stated to him explicitly, and he knows the fact to be so.
Long before his appointment to the government of Ireland
Doctor O'Beirne had publickly pledged him to the Papists of
Ireland that, if they would come forward boldly to claim an un
qualified repeal of all the laws which affected them, Lord Fitz
william would yield to their claims. Mr. Grattan, immediately
on his retum to Ireland, sent for Mr. Edw. Byrne and Mr.
Keogh, and pledged Lord Fitzwilliam to them for the unquali
fied repeal of aU the laws which affected them. Mr. Grattan
directed them to join in petitions to Parliament and addresses
to Lord Fitzwilliam from every part of the country, and pledged
himself for the success of the measure. But with what point
can Lord Fitzwilliam say that he wished to keep back their
claims, when a little more than one week after his arrival here,
before he could possibly have had time for inquiry or delibera
tion upon the subject, he made a speech to a mob of five
hundred men who came up to the Castle with an address from
th© Papists of Dublin, in which he stated distinctly to them
that all causes of discrimination between Protestant and Papist
had c©ased, and that they might claim everything as due to
their cordial allegiance and approved loyalty ?
His attacks upon Beresford are such that, if I were to advise
him, he ought to bring an action against Lord Fitzwilliam for
defamation. In such an action he may, if he can, prove the
charges which h© has advanc©d. The postscript which your
lordship will see in my handwriting to one of the letters was
sent last night to the copying clerks to be added to it. I am
not certain whether it has been given to me in the words of it.

262 PITT
or that I have only the import of it sent to me. It seems to be
the boldest experiment which has ever been made by the King's
representative in Ireland on his departure from his govemment,
and, whilst he continues in authority, publickly to recommend
' the good people ' of this country to pursue a measure patronized
by him, and for which he has been recalled by the unanimous
opinion of the British Cabinet condemning that measure as
ruinous to the Empire. Whether such a proceeding will be
suffered to pass unnoticed and unreprehended, your Lordship
knows better than I do.
Lest you should not take in the ' Hibernian Journal,' I send
you one of this day, which contains two addresses to the Duke
of Leinster and Mr. George Knox. The addresses show pretty
clearly what we may expect from the gratitude and fine feelings
of Irish Papists. Mr. Knox's answer seems somewhat extra
ordinary, coming from a Commissioner of the Revenue. I told
Mr. Pitt two years since what this gentleman is. Rely upon it,
he must be watched. He is as notorious a rebel and democrat
in heart as Mr. Tone, who is his intimate friend and playfellow.
Yours always truly, my Lord, Fitzgibbon.
Your Lordship will observe the use which Mr. Grattan has
made of Lord FitzwUliam's communication to him of the passage
contained in the Duke of Portland's private dispatch. Mr.
Grattan's answer to the address of the Papists of Dublin, in
which he advises them not to postpone their claims to the tim©
of peace, was given by him on the 27th or 28th of February.
It is plain, therefore, that this communication was made to him
at the instant it was received, and at the same instant was
communicated by Mr. Grattan to his Popish allies.
Fitzgibbon had an acute dishke for Curran, which
appears to have marked his whole hfe. They fought a
duel in 1789, when, to use Lord Plunket's expression,
' unluckily they missed each other.' He should have
put away aU signs and tokens of this rancour when he

LORD CLARE 263
became Lord ChanceUor, but he does not appear to
have done so ; and Curran, although he never abated
his courage or faltered in his language,^ said that Fitz
gibbon's attitude so told on the number of his clients
that he lost 30,000/. by it. Curran, in a well-known case
before the Irish Privy Council, when the Chancellor was
presiding, mercilessly lashed Fitzgibbon under pretence
of describing Sir Constantine Phipps. In that age of
orators Curran occupied a prominent place,^ and he
never hesitated to use his great powers in defending
himself from Fitzgibbon, who was created Earl of Clare
in 1795.

' It is related that one day, when pleading the cause of his client
before the ChanceUor, Curran happened frequently to make use of the
words ' also ' and ' likewise,' drawing a distinction between them. Lord
Clare interrupted by saying, ' Mr. Curran, it appears to me that you draw
a fanciful distinction between the words that to me always appeared
synonymous ? ' 'No fanciful distinction, my lord,' repUed Curran ; ' the
great and good Lord Lifford for many years presided over this Court,
which he adorned ; you also preside over it, but not likewise ' (The Lord
Chancellors of Ireland, p. 164, by Oliver Burke).
^ His speech in defence of HamUton Rowan, when prosecuted for
seditious Ubel, is celebrated. Dealing with the point of the pubUcation
proposing emancipation to aU reUgious creeds, he said : ' I speak in the
spirit of the British law, which makes Uberty commensurate with and
inseparable from British soU ; which proclaims even to the stranger and
the sojourner the moment he sets his foot upon British earth that the
ground upon which he treads is holy and consecrated by the genius of
universal emancipation. No matter in what language his doom may
have been pronoimced, no matter what complexion incompatible with
freedom an Indian or an African sun may have burnt upon him, no
matter in what disastrous battle his liberty may have been cloven down,
no matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted upon the
altar of slavery, the first moment he touches the sacred soU of Britain
the altar and the god sink together into the dust, his soul walks abroad in
his own majesty, his body sweUs beyond the measure of his chains that
burst from around him, and he stands redeemed, regenerated, and dis-
enthraUed by the irresistible genius oivmiversal emancipation ! ' (Cwrra/n's
Life, i. 312, by his Son ; vide also Howells' State Trials for 1794).

264 PITT
When Sir Ealph Abercromby came to Ireland as
Commander of the Forces in 1798, he found many things
to dissatisfy him as to the discipline and conduct of the
troops placed under his charge, and being a distin
guished and experienced soldier he expressed in strong
language his views as to the necessity of change. Un
fortunately, he expressed himself injudiciously and with
imperfect information in his well-known General Order
of February 26, 1798, and this caused a great outcry
from the Irish officials, and was disapproved by the
Viceroy and the ChanceUor, although Pelham, the
Chief Secretary, did what he could to do full justice to
the honesty of Abercromby's motives.''
Clare was extremely outspoken, and Lord Camden,
the Lord-Lieutenant, wrote to Pitt about ' the most in
judicious and almost criminal order of Sir E. Aber
cromby.' On March 13 Pitt replied : ^
The order, I fear, must produce great embarrassment both to
you and to us. Even supposing the irregularities to have been
ever so great, yet such a public, indiscriminate and unqualified
censure on the whole army could hardly be necessary to correct
them, and seems more likely either to break their spirits or to
alienate their affections ; which of the two would be worst I know
not. One sentence really describes them in a manner which
almost amounts to an invitation to a foreign enemy. In addition
to this, all the accounts which we receive of the state of the
most disturbed parts of Ireland lead me strongly to doubt
whether it can in many cases be practicable to act only under
' The General Order stated : ' The very disgraceful frequency of
courts-martial, and the many complaints of irregulariiies in the conduct
of the troops, have too unfortunately proved the army to be in a state of
licentiousness which must render it fomaidable to everyone but the
enemy.' ^ Pretyman MSS.

LORD CLARE 266
orders of the Civil Magistrat©s, when so many magistrates are
murdered for doing their duty, and juries as well as witnesses
are deterred from doing theirs.
The Beresford correspondence shows the very un
favourable view- that Clare and John Beresford took of
Abercromby's proceedings. Clare was not a man who
ever hesitated to express his opinions in the plainest
language. He always caUed a spade a spade, and he
thought that Sir E. Abercromby had entirely destroyed
his usefulness by his hasty and injudicious language.
The episode was unfortunate. Abercromby was a dis
tinguished and honest man. It would have been well
if some expedient had been found to adjust matters and
retain his services ; and it would, of course, have been
better if he had used more cautious language.
With his vigour of courage, of character, and of ex
pression, it must also be borne in mind that Clare was
a man of strong friendships and of warm domestic
affections. He was capable of most generous and
considerate kindness to political opponents — to Hamil
ton Eowan, to the two Sheares, to Lord Edward Fitz
gerald. His biographer ^ narrates Clare's interview
with the two Sheares before the insurrection of 1798,
and quotes the words of his authority: ' The Chancellor's
object was certainly benevolent and conciliatory, but
they were intractable.' His kindness and humanity
during the last hours of the unfortunate Lord Edward
Fitzgerald and securing the visit of his aunt to his
death bed are recorded in a touching narrative quoted
by Mr. Lecky.
' O'Flanagan's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland, i. 219. It
appears that Dr. Madden did not concur as to Lord Clare's motives.

266 PITT
From an early period Clare looked to the Union as
the real remedy for all the difficulties of Irish govern
ment. This appears very plainly from the following
letter ^ to Lord Auckland : Dublin : Friday.
My dear Lord, — . . . As to the subject of the Union with
the British Parliament, I have long been of opinion that nothing
short of it can save this country. I stated this opinion very
strongly to Mr. Pitt in the year 1793, immediately after that
fatal mistake into which he was betrayed by Mr. Burke and
Mr. Dundas in receiving an appeal from the Irish Parliament
by a Popish Democracy. I again stated the same opinion to
him in the last winter ; and, if this were a time for it, I think I
could make it clear and plain to every dispassionate man in the
British Empire that it is utterly impossible to preserve thia
country to the British Crown if we are to depend upon the pre
carious bond of Union which now subsists between Great Britain
and Ireland. It makes me almost mad when I look back at the
madness, folly, and corruption, in both countries, which has
brought us to the verge of destruction.
Yours always truly, my dear Lord, Clake.
His anti-Catholic feeling has been referred to. He
exceeded in 1799 his action in 1793. He actuaUy
assisted, in the House of Lords, to throw out the Govem
ment BiU for the improvement of Maynooth CoUege.
It is manifest, from the correspondence of the time,
that Clare was left in ignorance of any intended con
cessions to the Catholics, and was not informed of any
negotiations with their leaders. When, after the Union,
he found it out, he denounced the way he had been kept
in the dark and, as he said, been deceived. This infused
^ Auckland Papers, British Museum, 29475, f. 44. From a reference
in the letter to the battle of New Boss, it must have been written in 1798.

LORD CLARE 267
some bitterness and disappointment into the short
remainder of his Ufe.^
But into the great work of the Union he threw him
self with all his power. He profoundly believed in its
policy and success. He considered it as a necessity for
the future of Ireland and an outcome of its history ;
and this appears all through his great speech on the
Union in the House of Lords quoted in another chapter.
His clear, strong idea was that separation was the one
object of Irish agitation, and that Catholic Emancipation
and Eeform were only mentioned to delude the better
classes. He steadily protested^ that Ireland of aU the
nations in Europe was the most dangerous to tamper
with or make experiments upon. The one remedy he
saw was the Union, and he held this view honestly,
consistently, and with courage.^
The change effected by the Union did not add to
his personal fame or power. He made no successful
speech at Westminster. The new position was irksome
and trying to a man of his imperious temper. It
had diminished his influence and importance, and
during the short time that he lived after the Union
he experienced some of the worry and annoyance of a
' A letter of Clare to Castlereagh, October 16, 1798, goes to show that
Clare did not know Pitt's views about the CathoUcs (Castlereagh Corre
spondence, i. 393 ; see also letters — Cooke to Castlereagh, February 4,
1801, and CornwaUis to Castlereagh, ib. iv.).
* Irish ParUamientary Debates, February 19, 1798.
* The suggestion that he ever changed his views as to the poUcy of
the Union may be dismissed as quite unreUable. It would appear to be
founded on the assertion of his nephew, JeflSreys — ' I afterwards saw Lord
Clare die repenting of his conduct on that very question ' — mentioned in
Grattan's Life by his son (iii. 413). But Clare was not on terms with this
nephew, and any such interview between them is most improbable.

268 PITT
transition period — before the new order was estab
Ushed and the precise relations between the central
Government in London and the Vice-Eegal Government
in Dublin were determined. Abbott, the Chief Secre
tary after the Union, under Lord Hardwicke, says that
Clare was discontented and disrespectful ^ — that he was
' hostile to any government by Lord-Lieutenants, de
siring himseK to be Lord Deputy or at the head of the
Lords Justices.' But Clare and Abbott disliked one
another, and their testimony about each other is to be
received with caution. Clare was too masterful and
used to command for Abbott, and the Chief Secretary
was too prying and energetic about abuses and reforms
to suit officials of the old regime.
Pelham is possibly answerable for some of the fric
tion. He elected to go on with Addington when Pitt
resigned, and was then appointed head of the Home
Department, that directly connected with the Irish
Government and the channel by which the Viceroy
had to communicate officially with the Crown and the
Imperial Government. It shows the high estimate in
which Pelham was then held that he was at the same time
given a peerage and the management of business in the
House of Lords which had been in the hands of Lord
Hobart. He was also married at this date, and all
these combined events led to his getting a mass of
letters of congratulations, and amongst the number the
foUowing very studied production from the brother of
E. B. Sheridan ¦} '
^ Lord Colchester's Diary, i. 287.
^ Pelham Papers, British Museum, 33107, f. 883.

LORD CLARE 269
Waterford : August 24, 1801.
Persons circumstanced as I am, whose every once-indulged
hope has vanished before repeated disappointments, to whom
the future presents no cheering prospect, and whose present
existence is marked by vexations and misfortunes, and the
suffering of bodily complaints produced perhaps by the pressure
of these misfortunes — such persons can experience few grati
fications which have their source in themselves ; but if their
capacity for friendship and affection has not with every other
means of comfort deserted them, they may still look to the
enjoyment of those gratifications of the heart which have their
source in the happiness of others.
Retired as I live in this comer ofthe world, almost ©ntirely
devoted to philosophical pursuits, so as scarcely to feel in
terested in any political events, two paragraphs in the public
papers taught me that I could not view all political events with
©qual apathy, nor feel equally indifferent to all other events
which take place out of the sphere of my retirement. By the
first paragraph I was informed that Lord Pelham was appointed
Secretary of State — by the second, that Lord Pelham was
married. Allow me then, my Lord — and, were you not Secretary
of State, I should venture to say my dear Lord — to indulge the
sincere gratification I feel at two events so highly interesting
to those who feel for your Lordship that esteem and that affec
tion which I do, by congratulating you most cordially upon
both. . . .
Your Lordship's very faithful, affectionate, and truly
attached Servant, Cha. Fea. Sheridan.
It is strange, according to present constitutional
methods, to note that Pelham protested in writing^
against the minute of Cabinet for signing the definitive
Treaty of Amiens, March 14, 1802 :
Dissentient because I think it necessary, for the security
and interest of H. M. Dominions, that before any definitive
1 Pelham Papers, British Museum, 33108, f. 154.

270 PITT
treaty is signed a satisfactory explanation should be required
both as to the objects of the different expeditions which have
been fitted out from Franc© vnthout previous communication
with this country, and as to the general views of the French
Republic. (Then follow detailed reasons.) (Signed) Pelham.
It would be impossible now to conceive a formal
written protest by a Cabinet Minister against the
decision of his colleagues. A Minister whose dissent
required such a protest should resign.
Pelham tried to lay down narrow and circumscribed
lines for the Viceroy and the Irish Privy Council. Lord
Hardwicke vigorously asserted the rights of his position,
and not unnaturaUy in these first months there must
have been a good deal of bold assertion and resolute
denial put forward on both sides before a new practice
was estabhshed. AU the time and experience after
1800 was gaUing and disappointing to Clare. He had
not, as we have seen, been taken into confidence about
the CathoUc negotiations, and he found his importance
dwarfed and his influence diminished under the new
system which he had so striven to bring about. He
was not on very intimate terms with Lord Hard
wicke and he disliked Abbott ; but Pelham was an old
friend of his, and he communicated his opinions freely
to him. Possibly there never was a man in prominent pub
lic life whose career exhibited greater vicissitudes of
office and of estimate than Pelham's. Endowed with a
great name historicaUy connected with office, influence,
and rank, he was the eldest son of Lord Chichester,

LORD CLARE 271
and had been for several years Chief Secretary in Ire
land. His health was not good, and he constantly
tried to resign, but was appealed to by all to stay on,
as if he were an unreplaceable genius. Castlereagh
was first named with hesitation as a temporary substi
tute, and then, also with hesitation, as an unequal
successor. Lord CornwaUis modestly deprecating hos
tile criticism, saying that ' as he is so very unlike an
Irishman he has a great claim to an exception in his
favour.' Abbott would appear to have been an energetic and
reforming Chief Secretary. He was very anxious to
find out all about the different departments of Govern
ment — an apparently proper and reasonable matter on
which to seek information. In his diary ^ he says : ' In
consequence of general conversations with Mr. Adding
ton, and also upon this point with Mr. Pitt before I left
England, I issued circular orders caUing upon aU the
departments of Government to make returns of their
estabhshments, duties, salaries, &c., in the same manner
I had practised in the British Parliament when I was
chairman of the Finance Committee.'
Clare at once denounced the proceeding in the most
unmeasured language, and wrote the foUowing violent
letter ^ to Pelham, September 5, 1801 :
[Private] Mount Shannon : September 5, 1801.
My dear Lord, — Enclosed I send you a copy of a circular
l©tt©r which has been sent to every ofiice in the Civil and
Military Departments of this country by the Secretary of State
for Ireland and the Chief Secretary.
' Lord Colchester's Diary, i. 280.
2 Pelham Papers, British Museum, 33107, f. 428.

272 PITT
Although he makes use of Lord Hardwicke's name, I am
well satisfied the act is altogether his own ; and surely a more
unwise, impolitic, and insolent proceeding never has taken place
on the part of a Chief Secretary. I can scarcely suppose that
it originated in Great Britain, and, even if it did, that Mr.
Abbott can have any authority from thence to act with the un
exampled arrogance which marks every part of his ofBcial
conduct. Is there wisdom, justice, or policy in suffering this
upstart prig to disgust and offend the gentlemen to whose
support we are indebted for carrying the Union, before it has
well been completed? I understand that Mr. Abbott, who
commenced his oflBcial career by securing to himself a sinecure
office in Ireland for life, has openly declared that he has come
here for the sole purpose of effecting reformation in every
department. Even if he were authorised to make such a declara
tion, how is the general inquisition which he has set on foot
calculated to facilitate reformation ? And if it were, how is his
arrogance in the mode of carrying it into effect to be justified ?
I cannot see any object to be answered by his proceedings but
to wound the feelings of the gentlemen of the country, and to
make the conduct of public officers the subject of general cabal
and general canvass. Surely Mr. Abbott ought to be satisfied
in seeing that the public service shall be attended to as it ought
to be by the king's servants — and that if retrenchment is to
take place in the different departments, let it be carried into
execution gradually, and with every circumstance of accommo
dation to individuals which may be consistent with the object.
But if the few persons in Ireland who are attached to the
interests of Great Britain here find that they are, in consequence
of the Union, to be held up as objects of censure and obloquy,
if they are to feel themselves subject to the overbearing and
petulant arrogance of such a man as Mr. Abbott, and if they
find the alternative to rest between this sort of persecution and
the surrender of all security for their political and natural
existence in Ireland, it will be discovered, perhaps when it is too
late, that the efforts of the real friends of the British Mon
archy to preserve its integrity unimpaired will have been baffled
by the unaccountable and thoughtless folly and versatihty

LORD CLARE 273
of the councils adopted for the govemment of this country.
I cannot describe to you the degree of despair which I feel
when I look at th© gloom which obscures a prospect that I had
very lately considered as universally promising and bright.
Yours always very truly, My dear Lord, Clare.
[ClRCULAE.j Dublin Oastle.
I have it in command from the Lord-Lieutenant to desire
that you will transmit to me, with as little delay as possible, for
the immediate information of His ExceUency, a return of the
establishment of your officers exactly corresponding with th©
enclosed form, and specifying correctly the information required
in the respective columns thereof, when the headings severally
apply to the establishment of your institution, or to any points
connected therewith, and also to state the attendance and duties
of the officers belonging thereto.
His Excellency further desires that the retum now required
from you may be completed as if to be verified upon oath, and
that it may be signed by the proper officer or officers.
I have the honour, &c.,
C. A.
The forra required number of officers, by whom
appointed, how, when ; duration of interest (life, years,
or pleasure) ; executed in person or by deputy, and if
by deputy by what authority.
Salary : by whom paid ; increased salary or aUow
ances ; fees, and by what authority ; by whom paid ;
other emoluments ; from whence.
Deductions ; taxes ; pay to assistants.
Other public employments ; places or pensions
under Government.
Eeference to circulars as to hours of attendance
and duties. T

274 PITT
He again applied himself to the subject in a further
letter ^ September 18, 1 801 :
Mr. Abbott goes on very rapidly in all departments, civil
and military, and seems to consider his Master and the
Commander in Chief of the Forces as mere ciphers. If this
gentleman is not controlled, and that very speedily, he will do
more mischief here than you can be aware of. He has already
contrived to give more offence in the short time that he has
been in this country than I thought it possible for any fool or
coxcomb to accomplish.
Clare did not long survive the Union, and died on
January 26, 1802, after an iUness of some duration, in
Ely Place, Dublin, at the age of fifty-four. He had a
large and imposing funeral, and there was ample
evidence that he was widely regretted, and enjoyed
much general respect and esteem.^
He was a man of imperious spirit, masterful char
acter, powerful mind, and vigorous speech. He had
great courage, iron nerve,^ fearless independence,
personal integrity, domestic affection, combined with
some striking gifts. His desire to benefit Ireland ac
cording to his own conceptions of her position and
^ Pelham, Papers, British Museum, 33,108, f. 3.
* It is stated in O'Flanagan's Lives ofthe Chancellors of Ireland that
there was a painful display of popular feeling on the occasion. This is
plainly a vast exaggeration of possibly some trifling incident or exclama
tion. The funeral was on Sunday moming at St. Peter's, and there must
have been an enormous crowd of idle and curious people in the neigh
bourhood quite imcontroUed. The Dublin papers of the time (Faulkner's
Dublin Jowmal, the Freeman's Jov/mal, the Post) aU give full accounts
of the funeral, and none of them suggest anything unseemly as occurring.
^ Clare in a letter to Auckland, March 23, 1798, says : ' The news
paper accounts of the attack are much exaggerated. Some forty or fifty
blackguards did foUow me down Oastle HiU, but as I never go unarmed,
on my facing them suddenly with a pistol in my hand, they retreated
with precipitation.'

LORD CLARE 275
wants was sincere. But he was unfortunately arrogant,
overbearing, intolerant, and sometimes harsh. His
conduct to Curran was unbecoming ; his treatment of
Baron Power was hard. But he was capable of human
ity, kindness, and generosity. As a judge he acted
with great rapidity of decision and extraordinary power
of concentration. He was firm and just, in favour of
law reform, and opposed to legal abuses. Take him all
in all, he was a great Irishman.^
Lord KUwarden wrote before, and Lord Avonmore
after, Clare's death to PeUiam for the Great Seal ; but
their energy was not rewarded, and John Mitford, Lord
Eedesdale, an eminent English equity lawyer, was
appointed his successor.
Clare's private fortune and the large official income
he had received for so many years enabled him to leave
his family quite independent. His wiU, which was
executed on December 11, 1800, is interesting, and shows
the depth and earnestness of his family affections. The
first and last paragraphs are in Clare's own handwrit
ing. He left to his eldest son considerable landed
property, and very ample portions to his second son
and to his only daughter ; to his widow a legacy of
1,000Z. in addition to her jointure of 1,100/. a year,
and a large annual sum for the maintenance of her
children during minority.
The foUowing passages in the wiU show the serious
ness of his character, and throw light on his real con
victions :
I, John Earl of Clare, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, do make
^ There is a most prejudiced account of Clare's career in Grattan's
Life by his son (iii. chap. 13.) T 2

276 PITT
this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former
wills made by me. I earnestly entreat pardon for my sins
from Almighty God, I am truly and deeply sensible and grateful
for the many blessings which through His mercy and goodness
I have enjoyed in this world, and bow as becomes me vyith
resignation to such afflictions as have been visited upon me ;
hoping through His mercy and mediation of my Redeemer, His
most blessed Son, for salvation in the next world. . . .
The disposition which I make of my house and furniture in
Ely Place arises from my conviction that my wife, if she sur
vives me, will not reside in Ireland, more particularly as she
knows it to be my earnest wish that the education of my dear
children shall be completed in England, and I know her love
of them will induce her to make that country her place of
general residence. . . .
If I should not live to remove my books from my home in
Ely Place to my house at Mount Shannon, which it is my
intention to do if ever I shall see this giddy and distracted
country at peace, they are to be sold ; but if I live to remove
them, they are to remain at Mount Shannon as heirlooms and
the property of the possessor of the house. . . .
I do earnestly exhort my sons not to addict themselves to
idleness or extravagance, and above all to keep clear of the
abominable and pernicious vice of gambling. The injury which
their fortunes will sustain by it is slight when compared with
the corruption and depravity of mind and morals which it
never fails to entail on every man who suffers it to take
possession of him. . . .
It is my eamest wish, and I do warmly and earnestly
recommend to my eldest son who shall be entitled to the said
mansion house and demesne lands of Mount Shannon, to
make the same his place of general residence. I request my
friends whom I have hereby appointed trustees and executors
of this my will, to assist with their advice and counsel my dear
wife in everything that relates to her interests or the interests
of my dear children, and I have firm confidence in her love for
them and in her integrity and good dispositions that she will
instil into their minds from their earhest years the principles of
morality and the Ohristian religion, and above all others the

LORD CLARE 277
precepts of th© same, the love of truth and justice, which they
will find th© best inheritance I can transmit to them. . . .
I earnestly entreat my dear and beloved children to cultivate
the sam© attachment mutually to ©ach othor which I have
always had to them all, and which my most worthy and re
spected father manifested in every stage of his life to his
children : and I recommend most warmly to my dear sons, when
they shall attain th© ag© of men, to make the country which
gav© th©m birth the place of their general residence. Clare.
Notwithstanding the provision so made for herself
and her children. Lady Clare appUed to Pelham to aid
her to get help from the State. Such a request would
not now be made or listened to, but in those times
different habits and ideas prevailed.
In her letter ^ of February 8, 1802, to Pelham, she
said that her ' own situation was most dreadful, as her
husband had it not from his father's wiU in his power
to leave her in such a situation as he could have
wished, and his ideas while he hved were such as to
make him fiU the situation in which His Majesty had
so graciously placed him in such a manner that he
yearly more than spent his income, but he always felt
certain that Government would take care of me ; but,
as I before said, I am not half so anxious as to myself
as to his children and his relation Mr. Fitzgibbon.'
She also said, ' Upon what I most rest my claim is
that aU the family of Lord ChanceUor Lifford were
upon his death provided for.'
Pelham wrote a reply fuU of sympathy, but adroitly
treated the business part of her letter as merely a
' Pelham Papers, British Museum, 33,109, f. 91. Nothing in Claxe's
wUl suggests any need of assistance, or that he would have approved of
such a letter.

278 PITT
recommendation of Mr. Fitzgibbon. He on the same
day wrote to Lord Hardwicke commending Mr. Fitz
gibbon's claims, 'for I do not think anything could
have been provided either for her or her children.'
But she pressed her claims, and was ultimately granted
a pension, no doubt aided by Pelham's friendship for
her husband.
Pelham's own subsequent career is curious for a
man who had been Secretary of State, and who had had
the conduct of business in the House of Lords. His
health was not good, and this possibly accounted for
his having to give up the Secretaryship of State in
August 1803, and — after somewhat of a wrangle for
better terms — then taking the office of ChanceUor of the
Duchy of Lancaster.
When Pitt resumed office in 1804, he quietly
dropped Pelham out of his new Government in the
following polite letter : ^
[Private] York Place : May 19, 1804.
My dear Lord, — I regret very much being under the neces
sity of acquainting your lordship that in forming the new plan
of arrangements which I have been called on to submit to His
Majesty I find it unavoidable to recommend to His Majesty to
place in other hands the offlce now held by your Lordship of
Chancellor of the Duchy. You will, I hope, believe that in
taking this step I am actuated only by my view of what is
necessary at this moment for the King's service, and that I feel
great reluctance in proposing anything that is not perfectly
agreeable to you. It will be my anxious desire to be enabled
to propose to you some other situation (if such an one can be
found) which may be acceptable to you, and may mark the
sense I entertain of your services at a former period, when I
had the satisfaction of acting with you in Govemment. I shall
be very glad to be allowed an opportunity of conversing with
^ Pelham Papers, British Museum, 33,112, f. 123.

LORD CLARE 279
you on this subject whenever it is consistent with your con-
venienc© to come to town.
I am, with gr©at regard, my dear Lord,
Your Lordship's faithful and obedient Servant,
W. Pitt.
Pitt had great gifts for making unpleasant matters
smooth by gracious and graceful words. Nothing can
be more skilful than his letter to the Duke of York ^
relieving him of his command, and thus ' increasing the
lustre of his personal reputation.'
Downing Street : Friday, August 29, 1794.
Mr. Windham, who will have the honour of delivering to
Your Royal Highness this letter, is enabled so fully to explain
to Your Royal Highness all the circumstances which have led
His Majesty's servants to feel the necessity of the proposed
arrangement which he will communicate to Your Royal
Highness, and the general grounds of them are so fully stated
in a paper on the subject which haa been submitted to His
Majesty, and which Mr. Windham will also lay before Your
Royal Highness, that it would be superfluous for me to trouble
Your Royal Highness with any additional observations.
Allow me, sir, only to express a very earnest and sincere
hope that a measure which seems to us to be of the utmost im
portance to the public service in this critical conjunction may
also appear to Your Royal Highness, as it does to us, to fumish
at the same time an opportunity of increasing the lustre of Your
Royal Highness's personal reputation and giving you an addi
tional title to the increased gratitude and affection of the country.
I have the honour to be, etc.
W. Pitt.
Pitt afterwards offered Pelham the Stick of Captain
of Yeomen of the Guard, which he declined. The King,
however, pressed the stick into his hands, saying that
it was ' from him : the other was a Ministerial arrange^
ment ' ; but Pelham adhered to his refusal, and never
held office again.
* Pretyman MSS,

280 PUT

CHAPTEE IX

THE UNION

Thoughts of Dnion must have often passed through Pitt's mind — His
letter to Westmoreland — His pubUc Ufe and Grattan's ParUament —
Difificulty of Irish government — Commercial poUey — The Regency —
FitzwiUiam — Management of the Irish ParUament — The two reUgions
—Conspiracies and invasions — The RebeUion — Previous attempts at
Union — Advocates of Union — Decision of Government for Union —
Letter to CornwaUis — Points to be considered — Evidence to be taken
in Ireland in election petitions and private business — First debate —
Lord Corry's motion — Govemment sought additional support —
Composition of Irish House of Commons — Placeholders and pen
sioners — Dismissals and resignations — Scale of prices fixed for close
boroughs — ^Then legal property, and so regarded — Pitt had proposed
it for England — Opponents also paid for their boroughs — Other
expenditure — Repudiation by CornwalUs — Not put forward in Irish
ParUament — Increase of pensions — ^Vacating of seats — ^The known
methods of Irish Government — New peerages — ^Would a new election
have produced different results? — Competency of ParUament — The
means and the justice different things — Great speeches — Grattan,
Plunket, and Foster — Castlereagh — Pitt — Clare's speech — Foster's
reply — Pitt's speech of AprU 21, 1800 — Union taken quietly in
Ireland — General election of 1802 — Pitt's motives and aims — His
conduct after the Union.
Thoughts of the Union and of its policy must have
often passed through Pitt's mind. He had written ^ to
Westmoreland in 1792 : ' The idea of the present fer
mentation graduaUy bringing both parties to think of
an Union with this country has long been in my mind.
I hardly dare flatter myself with the hope of its taking
' Westmoreland Papers, DubUn Record Ofifice, letter of Pitt to
Westmoreland, November 18, 1792 : quoted by Mr. Lecky, vi. 513.

r.yt(.<i-/iJ //(on . c/^t/'/iri/ rJm/ti//t'

THE UNION 281
place ; but I believe it, though itself not easy to be
accomplished, to be the only solution for other and
greater difficulties.
'The admission of the CathoUcs to the share of
suffrage could not then be dangerous. The Protestant
interest — in point of power, property, and Church
estabUshment — ^would be secure, because the decided
majority of the supreme Legislature would necessarily
be Protestant ; and the great ground of argument on
the part of the Catholics would be done away, as, com
pared with the rest of the Empire, they would become
a minority.' The Union had grown into an urgent
matter for consideration after the rebelUon of 1798.
His own public life had commenced at the time that
Grattan's Parliament acquired its powers, and, speaking
generaUy, it may be said that he was Prime Minister
during its whole career. He had the greatest and the best
personal opportunities of judging of it from the British
or Imperial points of view. From the reports and
correspondence of the Irish Executive he was aware of
the difficulty of Irish government. He had had from
time to time to consider how the two independent
Parliaments could be got to work harmoniously in
matters where unison of aim was essential and where
difference of opinion was disastrous. He had found
that ' the Golden link ' often meant more gold than link,
and the conviction had each year taken clearer shape
in his mind that Union was the true pohcy.
He had seen his commercial policy — intended to
secure united action on Imperial subjects — wrecked
between the two independent Parliaments, the sport

282 PITT
of party in England, the victim of patriotism in Ire
land. He had seen the tie between the two countries
strained, the slender connection severely tried, and the
imminent possibiUty of the gravest and most far-reach
ing constitutional complications on the question of
the Eegency. The recovery of the King rescued the
Empire from real perils. If the two Parliaments had
selected as Eegent even the same person with different
powers, if war was popular in Ireland when England
desired peace, if a different foreign pohcy was even
possible in each country, if on the hundred questions
where united action was needed there was diversity of
opinion, how long would the Empire last without a
civil war to establish which was the stronger ?
The difficulties even of FitzwiUiam's short tenure
showed what a storm might be raised in Ireland and
almost between the two countries by an emotional
Viceroy with ideas — difficulties which would at all
events not be likely to arise in the same way if there
was an united ParUament.
Then the management of the Irish Parliament was a
tremendous question. If it remained an independent
Parliament, there was always the risk of its flying off —
being so independent that it would take no heed of
Imperial or British interests or wishes or policy. If
nothing at all was done, if the Irish Executive appointed
from London took no part in trying to manage Parlia
ment, might not the countries drift apart in action
and in policy ? This question of management — by
places, pensions, offices, titles — which some might

THE UNION 283
compendiously caU corruption, was a degrading, dis
agreeable, but essential question always with an Irish
Executive. Pitt might think that an Union would get
rid of it, and that it would be a blessing and a mercy to
be free from the old odious negotiations — ' to buy up
the fee simple of Irish corruption ' ^
He was quite alive, too, to the position of the two
religions, with old jealousies and old associations : in
many parts Protestant landowners and Catholic tenants,
with an Established Church for the minority. He knew
that Catholic relief and the question of tithes might be
dealt with more certainly and evenly in a Parliament
in London than ih a Parhament in Dublin.
Then the agrarian conspiracies and outrages, the
disloyalty and the treason, the invasions and invita
tions to invade, Ireland always ready from some shore
of some province to hold out a hand to the enemies of
the Empire and be an object for foreign intrigues —
Pitt thought that all these matters would be bettered by
an Union. At last came the EebeUion, rousing fierce passions,
stirring up religious animosities, setting religion against
religion and class against class, showing once again the
deadly danger of foreign invasion encouraged and aided
from within. Things would not go on as they were ; he
thought the time ripe for the Union, and that an
Imperial ParUament, with Ireland represented, would
with strong and impartial hand keep the peace between
the different races, religions, and interests which divided
the country ; cover all with its potent segis ; and at the
' Lord Castlereagh.

284 PITT
same time show the world that an united Empire spoke
with one voice through one Parliament.
A vassal Parliament had been tried ; a ParUament of
Protestants with its dependent independence had been
tested; the memory of the CathoUc Parliament of
James H. was not popular. Pitt determined on an
united Parliament. His motives were patriotic, and
Mr. Lecky ^ mentions the charge that the English
Government had forced on the EebeUion as a means of
effecting the union ' as too wUdly extravagant to
require a lengthened refutation.'
Once before (not to refer to earher periods), in Crom
weU's time, Irish members had sat at Westminster ; but
that had not lasted long, and besides the times were
revolutionary. The Irish Parliament in Anne's reign
had asked for Union. It was a known idea — supported
by many, opposed by many. Many great writers and
thinkers^ had advocated it in the past, and, supported
by his own experience, it entirely commended itself to
Pitt's mind.
The members of the Irish Government were strong
advocates of the Union. CornwaUis gave it the
sanction of his ripe judgment and his lofty charac
ter ; Clare, the ChanceUor, was its hearty advocate ;
Castlereagh — able, vigoroiis, intrepid, and determined —
thoroughly believed in it. It was opposed by many
whose names are entitled to be spoken of with respect
— Grattan, Foster, Plunket, Parsons, ParneU, and Bushe.
' Lecky, History of England in the Eighteenth Century, vni. 288.
' Amongst authorities who wrote in favour of the Union are found the
names of Petty, Brewster, Molyneux, Molesworth, Bishop Berkeley,
Adam Smith, &c.

THE UNION 285
The EngHsh Government were thoroughly united
in favour of it, and decided on December 21, 1798 ^ —
That the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland should be instructed
to state without delay to all the persons with whom he may
have communication on the subject, that His Majesty's Govern
ment is decided to press the measure of an Union as essential to
the well-being of both countries, and particularly to the security
and peace of Ireland as dependent on its connection with Great
Britain, to the utmost, and will even in the case (if it should
happen) of any pr©s©nt failure be renewed on every occasion till
it succeed, and that the conduct of individuals on this subject
will be considered as the test of the disposition to support the
King's Government.
In pursuance of this policy a long official letter ^
was written to the Lord-Lieutenant on December 24,
1798, from WhitehaU, going in detail into the sug
gested provisions of the Union, and containing the
following passage, which is of importance as showing
how unswerving was the resolution of the Cabinet :
The report which Lord Castlereagh will make you of the
conversations which he has had with Sir John Parnell will prove
to Your Excellency our concurrence in your opinion respecting
the propriety of bringing the leading members of Administra
tion, and Sir John Parnell in particular, to a clear and distinct
avowal of their sentiments and intentions with regard to the
Union ; and I desire to assure Your Excellency, in the most ex
plicit and unqualified terms, that every one of the King's ser
vants, as well as myself, will consider themselves individually
obliged to us© their best endeavours to fulfil whatever engage
ments Your Excellency may find it necessary or deem it expe
dient to enter into for the purpose or with a view of accomplishing
the Union of Groat Britain and Ireland.
It is obvious that the Government applied itself to
^ Pretyman MSS. ° Castlereagh Correspondence, ii. 53.

286 PITT
consider aU the matters that were likely to be of im
portance in working out such a great question.
There is in existence^ a paper of 'Points to be
considered with a view to an incorporating Union
of Great Britain and Ireland,' which contains the
foUowing :
4. An appeal (in all cases when it now lies to the House of
Lords) to lie to the Lord Chancellor and three chief judges in
Ireland, with power to them to permit an appeal in doubtful
cases to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, and with
power also to the House of Lords on special grounds shown, and
for preserving uniformity in the law of the two Kingdoms, to
remove the cause before them after the decision of that Court
of Appeal. 5. Power to the same court to examine evidence and certify
all preliminaries and other points for private Bills. This power
might be extended . . . so as to diminish the objection of the
expense of resort to Parliament here for such private business as
is now transacted by the Irish Parliament.
It is plain that on the discussion of these points
the Cabinet had decided at all events in favour of
making an effort to try and save expenses by means
of local inquiries, and thus obviate resort on such
matters to Parliament.
There is also amongst Pitt's papers the foUowing
interesting 'note respecting evidence to be taken in
Ireland ' :
One of the greatest difficulties, however, which has been
supposed to attend the project of Union between the two king
doms of Great Britain and Ireland is that of the expense and
trouble which will be occasioned by the attendance of witnesses
^ Pretyman MSS, The paper has notes in red ink by Pitt.

THE UNION 287
in trials of controv©rted elections or in matters of private busi
ness requiring Parliamentary interposition. It would, therefor©,
b© very d©sirabl© to devise a plan (which does not appear impos
sible) for ©mpowering the Speaker of either House of the United
ParHament to issu© his warrant to th© chairman of th© Quarter
Sessions in Ireland, or to such other person as may be thought
more proper for the purpose, requiring him to appoint a tim©
and place within the county for his being attended by the
agents of the respective parties, and reducing to writing in
their presence th© testimony (or the Consents or dissents, as th©
case may be) of such p©rsons as by the said agents may be sum
moned to attend, being resident within the county. (If not
there resident, a similar proceeding should take place in the
county where they do reside.) And such testimony so taken
and reduced to writing may by such chairman, or by the sheriff
of the county, be certified to the Speaker of either House as the
case may be. It seems difficult to provide by a detailed Article of
the Union for all the various regulations which such a proceed
ing may require, but the principle might perhaps be stated then,
and th© provisions left to be stated by the United Parliament.
All questions respecting the admissibility, competency, or
credibility of such evidence so certified must of cours© still
r©main with the House or Committee to whom it is to be pro
duced ; but it does not appear that in such cases there is any
benefit of viva voce testimony which might not equally be ob
tained by written evid©nce in this form.
In arranging th© d©tails it may probably be useful to con
sult the provisions now subsisting by different acts respecting
the procuring evidenc© in like manner for the East Indies.
This note is endorsed ' Irish Union — note respecting
evidence to be taken in Ireland — sent to Lord Castle
reagh December 18, 1798 ; ' and it is embodied in
the official letter of December 24, 1798, already re
ferred to.
It was resolved to bring forward the measure in

288 PITT
the Irish Parliament in 1799. In the first trial of the
question the debate was powerful and interesting ; the
motion for the Union was only carried by a majority of
one, whilst two days later their sole victory was won
by the Anti- Unionists by a majority of six.
On February 15, the Opposition,^ elated by their suc
cess, put up Lord Corry to move that the House should
resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House to
take into consideration the state of the nation — ^mean
ing to propose an address to the King to express the
opinion of the Irish House of Commons against the
Union, to counteract Pitt's resolutions at Westminster.
They faUed, however, and were beaten by 123 to 103,
showing the instabihty of the position, and that without
any new elections the House decUned within a very
short time after its earlier vote to place upon the
' Journals ' any lasting pledge against the Union.
The matter then stood over until the next session,
and the Government — mainly through Lord Castle
reagh — apphed itself in the interim to secure additional
support. What was done in this direction has
caused fierce denunciations ; and the usages of those
days too readily lend themselves to criticism and re
proach. But there are no close boroughs now, and therefore
no owners of close boroughs to be dealt with and con
sidered, and the methods adopted in 1800 could not
now be repeated and would not now be tolerated.
The means then used openly as a matter of business
^ Beresford Correspondence, u. 214, Beresford to Auckland, Feb
ruary 16, 1798.

THE UNION 289
suggest painful reflections as to the times and condi
tions which permitted or made them possible.
The Irish House of Commons was composed of
300 members — of whom 124 were nominated by fifty-
two peers, and sixty-four by thirty-si?: commoners. In
the not very attractive private history of the Parlia
ment the Irish Government had always largely looked
to and dealt with the owners of the seats. It was one
of the familiar methods of management — now simply
impossible. The matter had to be looked at from the
point of view then prevailing.
There was also in Parliament an army of place
holders and pensioners. These men had always been
expected to be obsequious in their politics. No one
can and no one does defend the system. It was de
basing and lowering to aU honourable, genuine public
life, but it was the system in 1799. If these men in
dulged in the luxury of independence, they knew the
penalty. Flood after a silence of years, official and
deliberate, at last spoke against the Government and
lost his place. The same thing happened to Hussey
Burgh and many others.
Of course, men holding high political offices, such
as the ChanceUor of the Exchequer and the Prime
Sergeant, stood on a different footing. Virtute ofiicii
loyalty and support were expected naturaUy by the
Government, and if denied they were liable not un
naturally to immediate dismissal. The dismissals, how
ever, as distinguished from resignations at this period
were not very considerable.^
1 Seven only appear to have been dismissed from offices held during
U

290 PITT
The proprietors of the close boroughs had to be
approached. They could not be expected to consent
to the destruction of their property — one of the reasons
that influenced some on the first division to vote against
the Union. Was it reasonable to think that any owners
would ever quietly submit to the loss of property
which was recognised everywhere ? Castlereagh thought
they should be corapensated, and he applied himself to
ascertain the scale of prices that should be paid for this
species of property. It is very painful to think that
such rights were ever regarded as mere private pro
perty and as matters of purchase ; but the property
in human beings — at which aU nature revolts — was
compensated for by miUions when the negroes were
emancipated. Did the fact that the property in close
boroughs was to be compensated in money suggest
a holier horror? Pitt had made a Uke proposition
(amounting to a million) for England in his scheme
for Parhamentary reform. They were regarded as
property to be bought, sold, settled and devised,
like any other species of property. This trans
action involved the expenditure of a very large sum
of money, which went impartiaUy amongst aU the
owners affected — opponents as weU as supporters of
the Government.^ No tangible evidence, of a^ other
pleasure : Parnell, ChanceUor of the Exchequer ; Fitzgerald, Prime
Sergeant ; Col. Foster, son of the Speaker ; and four others. Pitt, writing
on January 26, 1799, said of Col. Foster : ' In particular it strikes me as
essential not to make an exception to this line in the instance of the
Speaker's son. No Government can stand on safe and reputable
ground which does not show that it feels itself independent of him '
(Ingram, History of the Irish Union, p. 201).
, • Ingram's History of the Irish Union; see also Lecky's History.
The anti-Unionists were paid 434,000?. Each borough was valued at

THE UNION 291
expenditure of money for the purpose of buying votes
for the Union is to be found.^ No such charge even
was put forward in the Irish Parliament or at the
time. The Union naturally brought a large number
of offices to an end, and considerable expenditure had
to be sanctioned to save the holders from loss, but this
was done openly by statutes.^ A large part of the
increase of pensions can be thus explained.
The vacating of seats between the two sessions has
been attacked, but it was merely an exaggerated de
velopment of the then ordinary methods of manage-
15,000Z. ; each half-borough at 7,500?., which was said to be rather less
than fuU market value. In England such property brought much higher
prices — quite openly.
' CornwaUis repudiated the idea (Correspondence, iii. 84) : ' The
enemy, to my certain knowledge, offer 5,000Z. ready money for a vote. If
we had the means, and were disposed to make such vile use of them, we
dare not trust the credit of Government in the hands of such rascals.'
' The accusation of corruption was grappled with by the Government and
its supporters in both Houses of Parliament, and the Opposition was
chaUenged to prove it. In the House of Lords the ChanceUor, Lord
Clare, on February 10, 1800, accused the anti- Unionists of having opened
an exchequer " for foul and imdisguised bribery," and named two members
who were present in connection with his objection. These members
attempted to defend themselves, but no counter-charge was brought for
ward. ... In the Commons the Prime Sergeant threw dovra the glove on
January 15, 1800, . . . and ended his speech with these words : " It was
base to be bribed — very base ; but it was baser to make the charge when it
was known to be false." The glove thus thrown down was not taken up
in either House. . . . The accusations of the Opposition at the time of the
Union were vague and general, and were based on three circumstances —
th« compensation for boroughs ; the dismissal of officers and the pro
motions consequent on their dismissals ; and the alleged terms offered to
the Protestant, Catholic, and Presbyterian Churches' (Ingram, ffisior^/
of Irish Union, pp. 226-7).
^ Plowden, ia an appendix, gives a long list of Irish Parliamentary
annuities granted ' as a compensation for their respective losses by reason
of the discontinuance of their emoluments or offices as officers or attend
ants of the two Houses of Parliament.' Foster, the Speaker, got an
annuity of over 5,000?. u 2

292 PITT
ment. Some accepted office and vacated their seats ;
but the greater number of seats were vacated because
their owners had gone over to the Union — no doubt
influenced by the knowledge that their property was
recognised and would be paid for. It is undeniable
that the value of boroughs owned by these men had
then a large market price. The system adopted by
Castlereagh to insure an adequate majority is opposed
to aU present notions of public life. ' But,' ^ as Lord
Eosebery says, ' it must in fairness be remembered that
this was the only method known of carrying an Irish
Government; the only means of passing any measure
through an Irish Parliament ; that, so far from being an
exceptional plan of politics, it was only three or four
years of Irish administration roUed into one.'
The number of peerages given was considerable,^
but this was also an ordinary incident of Irish political
life aU through the eighteen years of Grattan's ParUa
ment. It is impossible to take up any correspondence
of the time without finding the most open demands for
peerages and for promotions in the peerage. Peerages
were then given with great facility. Clare, who was
entitled by his eminence, was made a Baron, then a Vis
count, then an Earl. But Archbishop Agar, and Scott
and Toler, who were less prominent, also equaUy
bounded up by similar steps to earldoms.
> Pitt, by Lord Bosebery.
^ Twenty new Irish peerages were created, sixteen peers were
promoted in the peerage, and foiu: peers were given English peerages.
But it was certainly the custom of that period to create peers rather
freely. Thus Lord North in 1779 is said to have ' on one day and on no
special occasion created eighteen Irish peerages, raised five viscounts and
seven barons a step in the peerage ' (Ingram's History of Irish Union,
p. 194). See Lecky, iv. 441. EngUsh peerages were then also created
very freely (May, Const. Hist. i. 238).

THE UNION 293
It is said that there should have been a new elec
tion on the question. Would it — could it — have pro
duced different results ? The owners of seats were
satisfied to get the price of their boroughs, and their
nominees would have voted for the Union in a new
Parliament just as weU as in the existing one. There
was a kind of general election at the beginning of the
session of 1800, when writs were moved for a large
number of seats vacated during the recess. The new
members returned were ' stalwarts ' for the Union. A
general election for the whole of Ireland would prob
ably have shown a greater majority.
The competency of the Irish Parliament to pass
such a measure has been keenly debated. The legal
power seems clear, and constitutionaUy it is not easy
to see how a limit can be placed on the power of an
independent Parliament ; but as men support or oppose
the Union, so they wiU, to the end of time, take sides
on this question.
The means by which the Union was carried in the
Irish Parliament is one thing, the consideration of
whether it was just or right is another thing. Pitt was
not directly much concerned with the former ; but his
responsibility for the measure itself, its reason, its fair
ness, its necessity, is palpable and acknowledged.
Its course in the two Parliaments is interesting, and
is noted fuUy in familiar works of authority. But as
any book on Pitt would be incomplete which omitted
some reference to the Union, so it is necessary in such
references to aUude to some of the great speeches
which made part of the history of the transaction.
Though Grattan's speeches were most eloquent and

294 PITT
emotional, and Plunket's powerful and impressive,
Foster, the Speaker, made probably the most able and
effective arguments against the Union. They can be
read to-day with great admiration for his sincerity, his
patriotism, his knowledge and ability. His two great
speeches against the Union — the first, delivered on the
Eegency BiU, deemed a reply to Pitt, and the second,
delivered in Committee on the Union BiU, deemed a
reply to Lord Clare — reaUy say aU that can be said on
the subject, and present the whole case against the Union
from the political, economic, and social points of view,
with fulness,' lucidity, and force. He spoke with aU
the more weight on account of his close connection for
years with Irish Government and his high character.
His testimony was regarded as the more impartial
because he was a strong Protestant who had opposed the
Catholic claims, who had been hostile to Abercromby,
and who had supported stern measures after the Eebel-
lion. Clare, Castlereagh, and William Smith made the
most powerful arguments for the Union, in Ireland.
Pitt, on January 31, 1799, made his great speech
at Westminster moving the resolutions for the Union —
a most powerful, exhaustive, and elaborate statement
of the case. It met with no effective answer in the
assembly to which it was addressed, though Sheridan
(Fox taking no part) made an eloquent speech — not so
much on the merits of the Union, as on the occasion
and circumstances under which it was proposed. The
real answer was in the speech of Foster, already re
ferred to, delivered at College Green, which boldly
took issue On aU Pitt's arguments, and vigorously

THE UNION 295
denied the advantages which were held forth as likely
to result from the Union.
Lord Clare's speech proposing the resolution for
the Union was delivered in the Irish House of Lords
on February 10, 1800. He took four hours, and his
address was obviously prepared with most elaborate
care. It is very powerful, but goes rather much into
detail, shows strong feeUngs against the Eoman Catholic
religion, and little toleration towards those who differed
from him in opinion. He manifestly entertained the
most sincere opinion that the measure was just and
necessary. His words were clear :
I f©el a strong conviction that nothing but Union can save
this kingdom from annihilation and eventually uphold the
stability of the British Empire. . . . From a critical and atten
tive observation of what has passed in Ireland for the last twenty
years, I am satisfied in my judgment and conscience that the
existence of her independent Parliament has gradually led to her
recent complicated and bitter calamities, and that it has at
length become desperate and impracticable. ... In every com
munication which I have had with th© King's Ministers on Irish
affairs for the last seven years I have uniformly and distinctly
pressed upon them the urgent necessity of Union as the last
resource to preserve this country to the British Crown.
He sketched vigorously the connection between the
two countries ; the early policy of the English Govern
ment, the faUure to extend the Eeformation in Ireland,
the history of the Irish Parliaments and of the con
fiscations. Upon the forfeitures he founded one of his
most teUing arguments :
What, then, was the situation of Ireland at the Eevolution?
and what is it at this day ? Th© whole power and property of

296 PITT
the country has been conferred by successive monarchs of Eng
land upon an English Colony, composed of three sects of
English adventurers, who poured into this country at the ter
mination of three successive rebellions. Confiscation is their
common title, and from their first settlement they have been
hemmed in on every side by the old inhabitants of the island,
brooding over their discontents in sullen indignation. It is
painful to me to go into this detail, but we have been for twenty
years in a fever of intoxication, and must be stunned into sobriety.
What, then, was the security of the English settlers for their
physical existence at the Revolution ? and what is the security
of their descendants at this day ? The powerful and command
ing protection of Great Britain. If by any fatality it fails, you
are at the mercy of the old inhabitants of the island.
He pointed out that when the idea of the Union was
scouted in Queen Anne's reign, ' in finding a substitute
there was a race of impolicy between the two countries.
The Parhament of England seems to have considered
the permanent debility of Ireland as their best security
for her connection with the British Crown, and the Irish
Parliament to have rested the security of the Colony
upon maintaining a perpetual and impassable barrier
against the ancient inhabitants of the country.'
He reviewed the times of the Volunteers, the failure
of the commercial resolutions of 1785, the Eegency
question, the proceedings of the Cathohc Committee,
and Lord FitzwiUiam's Viceroyalty. He made no
attempt at conceaUng his opinion of the Eoman Catholic
rehgion, which coloured his whole public life :
My unaltered opinion is that so long as human nature and
the Popish religion continue to be what I know they are, a
conscientious Popish ecclesiastic never will become a well-
attached subject to a Protestant State, and that the Popish
clergy must always have a commanding influeHce on every

THE UNION 297
member of that communion. I put it as an abstract State
maxim without regard to the peculiar situation of this country ;
and if experience were wanting, I have it abundantly to con
firm me in the justice of it. In private life I never inquire
into the religion of any man.
He dealt eloquently with the suggestion 'Let the
British Minister leave us to ourselves ; we are very well
as we are.'
Gracious God ! of what material must the heart of that
man be composed who knows the state of the country, and
who coldly tells us we are very well as w© ar©? We are
very well as w© are ! We have not three years of redemp
tion from bankruptcy or intolerable taxation, nor on© hour's
security against the renewal of exterminating civil war. We
are very well as we are ! Look at your statute-book. Session
after session hav© you been compelled to enact laws of un
exampled rigour and novelty to repress the horrible excesses of
the mass of your people, and the fury of murder and pillage
and desolation has so outrun all legislative exertion that you
have been at length driven to the hard necessity of breaking
down the pale of the military law and putting your country
under the ban of municipal government ; and in every little
circle of dignity and independence we hear whispers of dis
content at the temperate discretion with which it is admin
istered. We are very well as we are ! Look at the old
Eevolutionary Government of the Irish Union and the modern
Revolutionary Government of the Irish Consulate, canvassing
the dregs of the rebel democracy for a renewal of popular
ferment and outrage to overcome the deliberations of Parlia
ment. We are very well as we are ! Look to your civil and
religious dissonsions — look to the fury of political faction and
the torrents of human blood that stain the face of your country,
and of what material is that man composed who will not listen
with patience and goodwill to any proposition that can be made
to him for composing the distractions, and healing the wounds,
and alleviating the miseries of this devoted nation ?
After stating the relief he believed Ireland would

298 PITT
acquire by the Union, he dealt with the aUegation that
by giving up a separate Government and Parliament
national dignity would be sacrificed :
If gentlemen who enlarge on this theme will talk of their
personal dignity and aggrandisement I can understand them ;
but when I look at the squalid misery and profound ignorance
and barbarous manners and brutal ferocity of the mass of the
Irish people, I am sickened with this rant of Irish dignity and
independence. Is the dignity and independence of Ireland to
consist in the continued depression and unredeemed barbarism
of the great majority of the people and the factious contentions
of a puny and rapacious oligarchy, who consider the Irish
nation as their political inheritance, and are ready to sacrifice
the public peace and happiness to their insatiate love of
patronage and power ? I hope I feel, as becomes a true Irish
man, for the dignity and independence of my country, and
therefore I would elevate her to her proper station in the rank
of civilised nations. I wish to advance her from the degraded
post of a mercenary province to the proud station of an integral
and governing member of the greatest Empire ia the world. I
wish to withdraw the higher orders of my countrymen from the
narrow and corrupted sphere of Irish politics, and to direct
their attention to objects of national importance ; to teach
them to improve the national energies and extend the re
sources of their country ; to encourage manufacturing skill and
ingenuity, and open useful channels for commercial enterprise ;
and, above all, seriously to exert their best efforts to tame and
civilise the lower orders of the people ; to inculcate in them
habits of religion, and morality, and industry, and due sub
ordination ; to relieve their wants and correct their excesses.
Unless you will civilise your people, it is in vain to look for
national tranquillity and contentment.
The speech was very able and vigorous, very
characteristic and confident, never suggesting the possi-
bihty of doubt or uncertainty or hesitation ; still of too
great length, dealing too exhaustively with aU topics and

THE UNION 299
going somewhat into too much detail. But it had great
weight, it was widely read, and it was one of the
most powerful statements of the case for the Union.
It caimot, however, be placed before ^ and possibly not
on a level with Pitt's.
Clare's speech was delivered on February 10, 1800,
in the Irish House of Lords, and it was practicaUy
replied to on the 17th in the Irish House of Commons
by Foster in a singularly able speech.
He boldly denied that the situation of Ireland was
so desperate or so hopeless as painted ; vindicated the
position of the people, asserted the success of the Con
stitution of 1782, and utterly dissented from Clare's
views and prophecies as to finance. He entirely denied
that Ireland was on the verge of bankruptcy, that her
finances were in ruin or that the Union would improve
them, and he resolutely asserted that the Union would
increase the taxation.
He foretold many serious disasters from the removal
of the Parliament from Dublin, and said the Union
' leaves us every appendage of a kingdom except what
constitutes the essence of independence, a resident ParUa
ment. Separate State, separate Establishment, separate
Exchequer, separate debt, separate Courts, separate
laws, the Lord-Lieutenant, and the Castle, all remain.'
He prophesied that revenue and trade would not
stay after the Union ; but, if they remained, it would not
affect his judgment. ' I declare most solemnly that if
England could give us all her revenue and all her trade,
I would not barter for them the free Constitution of my
' The Et. Hon. J. T. BaU regarded Pitt's speech as the best.

300 PITT
country. Our wealth, our properties, our personal
exertions, are aU devoted to her support. Our freedom
is our inheritance, and with it we cannot barter.'
He was entirely opposed to compensating the
borough owners as unconstitutional, denied that the
Union would bring tranquillity or assuage religious
differences, and asserted the right to hold countj'
meetings to enable constituencies to express their real
sentiments. He said aU that could be said on the
subject, and his speech should be read with attention
by aU who wish to master the debates on the Union.
On April 21, 1800, Pitt ^ in the House of Commons
appealed for a large and broad view of his achievement :
If we wish to accomplish the great work we have under
taken we must look to the whole of this important and compli
cated question ; we must look at it from a large and comprehen
sive point of view ; we must consider it as a measure of great
national policy, the object of which is effectually to counteract
the restless machinations of an inveterate enemy who has uni
formly and anxiously endeavoured to effect a separation between
the two countries, whose connection is as necessary for the
safety of the one as it is for the prosperity of the other. We
must look to this as the only measure we can adopt which can
calm the dissensions, allay the animosities, and dissipate the
jealousies which have unfortunately existed ; as a measure
whose object is to communicate to the sister kingdom the skill,
the capital, and the industry which have raised this country to
such a pitch of opulence ; to give to her a full participation of the
commerce and of the Constitution of England ; to unite the
affections and resources of two powerful nations, and to place
under one public will the direction of the whole force of the
Empire. We must regard this as a measure, Sir, the object of
which is to afford an effectual remedy for those imperfections
' Pitt's Speeches (Hathaway), 4 vols.

THE UNION 301
which exist in that precarious system that at present binds the
two countries together — a system which, if an incorporate Union
should unfortunately not take place, may ultimately tend to
their separation.
When the Union became law, there were no signs
of the general dissatisfaction in Ireland that was so
freely anticipated by its opponents. On the contrary, it
was on the whole taken very quietly ; there was no agita
tion, and at the general election of 1802 no member
lost his seat on account of having supported the Union.
The Union was a great measure — the most import
ant of Pitt's life and policy. Opinions may differ as to
the time selected for its enactment, as to the means
employed, as to the measure itself; but no one can
deny its importance or the largeness of its conceptions.
Its author's motives and aims have been impugned ; but
impartial history will not deny that he was influenced
by true and generous motives of public spirit, and that
he himself believed he was acting for the best interests
of the Empire and of Ireland.
It is no part of the purpose of this short chapter to
enter into the keen political controversies as to how far
the Union has answered and come up to all the expecta
tions of Pitt. But to his own conduct after the Union
has been ascribed the incompleteness, the tardiness, of
its good results ; and it is reasonable and indeed essen
tial to see whether that conduct fairly satisfied the
great requirements ofthe position, fulfiUed the expecta
tions he had evoked, and was worthy of a great states
man wielding vast power. His warmest admirer, in
considering his career after the Union, has to use much
more the language of explanation than of eulogy.

302 PITT

CHAPTEE X
PITT AFTER 1800
Pitt's Irish programme — ^What he had given to be understood — ' CathoUc
emancipation ' — Pitt did not act with resolution — Moral obligation —
Castlereagh summoned to London — Pitt's letter to Loughborough —
Disclosed to King — Loughborough's explanation — Pitt did nothing to
influence King — Importance of tithe commutation — No justification
for its neglect — Provision for CathoUc clergy — Pitt's excuse inade
quate — Castlereagh's letter of January 1, 1801 — King's language at
Levee — Pitt's letter to King, January 31, 1801 — King's reply and
farther correspondence — Eesignation — PubUc surprise — Tomline's
memorandum — Pitt's letter to his brother — To Tomline — ^Either of
two courses fairly open to Pitt — Took neither — Sir G. C. Lewis's view —
Letter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire — King's reception of Pitt
at Levee — Pitt soon wavered as to pledge of future conduct — Interview
with Tomline — Letter of Eose to King — Addington — King's attack —
Pitt's message through Dr. WaUis — Canning's letter — Pitt perplexed —
Fair conduct to Catholics — Letter of Dundas to Pelham — No adjust
ment — And Addington takes oflSce — Pitt's sincerity — Eesidence at
Walmer — Lady Hester Stanhope — Eldon's conduct — His corre
spondence with Pitt — Opinions of Lord CampbeU and of Milman,
Brougham and Lord Eosebery — Pitt's own conduct throughout
open — His acceptance of Government — King's objection to Fox —
Fox's friends — Pitt forms weak Govemment ^ — Lord GrenviUe's
letter — Pitt's conduct in yielding to King — His difficulties — Entitled
to sympathy.
The Act for the Irish Union received the Eoyal Assent
in the English Parliament on July 2, 1800, and then it
was necessary for Pitt to consider carefully how and
when he would apply himself to carry out and complete
his Irish programme. It was not the case of an
express promise or contract or pledge, but he had
given it to be understood, and he knew it was most

S^J* ZL^nutl.stti'e'. ij.t/rur.'

/./.Mf'// // / ( 'f/.///l ////// //

///

AFTEE 1800 303
naturally expected, that he had in view after the
Union some measures to complete Catholic relief,^ to
pay a part of their stipend to the Catholic clergy out of
money provided by the State, and lastly to deal with
the pressing grievance of Irish tithes. It must be con
fessed that he did not apply himself to any of them with
promptness, energy, or resolution. The tithe grievance
he never touched, the payment of the Catholic clergy
he hardly hinted at, and Catholic relief was treated by
him without nerve or vigour. He did not intend to
' keep the word of promise to the ear and break it to
the hope.' He was not dishonest or intending to break
faith, but he did not act in the matter like a strong
man who meant to effect his purpose, and who would
not be denied. His own health was not good ; he had
not quite the energy, the decision, or the vigour of
early days ; and he shrank from taking a resolute
stand against the King.
Pitt remembered and recognised the moral obliga
tions he had incurred, and summoned Lord Castlereagh
to London in September 1800, to join in the discussions
on the subject. He wrote on September 25, 1800, to
Lord Loughborough, who was then at Weymouth with
the King, announcing a Cabinet and saying ' the chief
points, besides the great question of the general state
1 Pitt resolutely repudiated the correctness of the expression ' Catholic
emancipation.' In the debate on July 25, 1801, he said : ' I do not
now understand the situation of the Catholics to be such as that
any relief for it could be correctly so described, but I think the few
remaining benefits of which they have not yet participation might have
been added safely to the many benefits which have been so bounteously
conferred on them in the course of the present reign.' The position of
Irish Catholics was far better then than that of their EngUsh and Scotch
co-religionists.

304 PITT
of the Catholics, relate to some arrangement about
tithes and a provision for the Catholic and Dissenting
clergy.' The Chancellor promptly disclosed ^ Pitt's
letter to the King, and, without any communication
to his colleagues, strengthened and increased the
old objections of George III. to any concessions to
the Catholics, and encouraged and prepared him
for resistance whenever the matter should be for
maUy presented to him. When the Cabinet met, on
September 30, Loughborough openly opposed the
admission of Catholics to Parliament or office, whilst
strongly advocating a measure to deal with the tithe
grievance. Other members of the Cabinet were also
either not friendly to or lukewarm on the Cathohc
claims ; and when the council broke up, no resolution
had been come to, and the whole question was quietly
adjourned until January.
Loughborough at once again applied himself to
foment the King's prejudices, and submitted an able
and plausible memorandum to him against any further
concession to the Catholics. Pitt did nothing. He
should have at once seen that there was no time to be
wasted, that he had ' a resolute and unscrupulous op
ponent working against him. He knew the King and
the anti-Catholic opinions he had expressed in the time
' Lord CampbeU thinks Loughborough behaved disingenuously and in
breach of good faith. There were so many rumoiurs afloat at the time
that he had acted unfairly and betrayed his coUeagues, he wrote and
circulated among his friends a laboured and lame explanation of his
conduct. And yet the King neither liked nor trusted him, and his
biographer says that on being satisfied he was dead ' His Majesty was
graciously pleased to exclaim, " Then he has not left a greater knave
behind him in my dominions " ' (Lives of the Lord Chancellors).

AFTEE 1800 305
of the Viceroy alties of Westmoreland and FitzwiUiam,
and more recently when Cornwallis went to Ireland.
It was to the last degree imprudent ^ not at once to
have applied himself to open the matter and from
his own fair and reasonable standpoint to seek to
convince George IH., or by resolute language to show
that he could support no other alternative. He could
then have calmly and at his leisure examined his posi
tion ; carefully weighed the chances of overcoming the
King's obstinacy, as he had done on other troublesome
occasions, by firmness; and considered whether, if the
obstacles in the way of further concessions to the
Catholics could not then be overcome, he would not at
all events apply himself to the two other measures
before coming to a final break, and resigning.
Far the most important of the three questions for the
peace and the material advantage of the Irish people
was tithe commutation. It was. a grievance that came
home to mind and pocket. It was a hardship of
long standing, known to aU, denied by none. Grattan
had framed a scheme for relief; the Duke of Eutland
had years before appealed to Pitt to take it up ; Lord
Loughborough had drafted a Bill. Pitt could have
readily passed a measure settling the question without
difficulty or opposition. He never once tried, or lifted
a finger, to remedy this great and admitted grievance,
and it is impossible to suggest a real justification for
the neglect.
The provision for the Catholic and Dissenting clergy,
^ Bose agrees with Lord Malmesbury that Pitt was careless in not
preparing the King's mind graduaUy on the CathoUc question (Diaries
amd Correspondence of Bight Hon. George Bose). X

306 PITT
too, was a measure of importance, at that time desired
and feasible. It might have a considerable and bene
ficial effect on the peace, contentment, and future of
Ireland. It might not have passed as easily as a tithe
commutation Bill, but it would not have excited any
grave opposition.^ Pitt knew aU this ; his mind had
been directed to the subject for a considerable time.
Yet he did nothing, and never seriously tried to do
anything, on the subject.
His sole excuse for doing nothing in reference to
these two important matters must be sought for in the
fact that, having failed in his proposals for Catholic
rehef, he did not see his way to do anything. The
excuse, no doubt, represents Pitt's views ; but it can
hardly be regarded as adequate or satisfactory, as the
measures were quite separate and in no way dependent
upon one another. The excuse, such as it is, would
have more force if it could be shown that he threw aU
his power into a relief BiU, and that he fought for it
with resolution, courage, and perseverance. He resigned
indeed, but he did little else.
In anticipation of the renewed Cabinet meetings
Castlereagh deemed it right on behalf of Lord Corn
waUis and himself to remind Pitt in the fuUest, clearest,
and most powerful way of what, with the fuU sanction
of Pitt and the Cabinet, they had done in Ireland to
enlist Catholic support for the Union by holding out
expectations for further Cathohc relief being granted
• Pretyman MSS,, Eose to Bishop Tomline, July 31, 1803 : ' The
Irish business is heart-breaking. Why the intended provision has not
been made for the Catholic clergy I cannot teU, as aU agreed in the
propriety and expediency of that.'

AFTEE 1800 307
by the new Imperial ParUament. The letter ^ is a long
and powerful recapitulation of the facts. It is fuUy
set out in many works, and it contains the foUowing
clear passage : ' The instructions which I was directed
to convey to Lord Cornwallis were to the foUowing
effect : that His Excellency was fuUy warranted in
soliciting every support the Catholics could afford ; that
he need not apprehend, as far as the statements of the
Cabinet were concerned, being involved in the difficulty
which that body seemed to apprehend ; that it was not
thought expedient at that time to give any direct
assurance to the Catholics, but that should circumstances
so far alter as to induce His ExceUency to consider such
an explanation necessary, he was at liberty to state the
grounds on which his opinion was founded for the
consideration of the Cabinet.' The narrative in the
letter shows the strong moral case by which Pitt was
bound and influenced, and which he had, if possible, to
satisfy. The opponents of Catholic relief in the Cabinet
increased and grew more bold, and the King, en
couraged by the Chancellor and Archbishops, became
more outspoken in his objections. At his Levee on
January 28, 1801, he spoke loudly and openly against
even the suggestion of such a measure, and Pitt became
thoroughly aware, not only that he should act at once,
but also that he would have to encounter all the op
position that the long-trained experience of George IH.
knew how to make most effective.
1 The letter is dated January 1, 1801, and is set out at length in the
CornwaUis and Castlereagh correspondence. X 2

308 PITT
It was under these discouraging circumstances that
Pitt on January 31, 1801, wrote his weU-known letter ^
to the King urging a measure for the admission of
Catholics to Parliament and office, subject to clear
tests to safeguard the established constitution in Church
and State, and saying he would resign if not permitted
to carry it out, as the policy ' was unalterably fixed
in his mind, and must ultimately guide his political
conduct.' The letter was dignified and becoming, but
its tone and language conveyed that Pitt was prepared
for failure and that the King would have httle difficulty
in ' forming a new arrangement.' George IH. was too
trained and astute a politician not at once to see that
Pitt did not expect him to yield, and that he did not
mean resolutely to assert his convictions in and out of
office. Although his reply to Pitt of February 1 was
thoroughly friendly — mentioning the Coronation Oath
and his ' sense of religious as well as poUtical duty,' and
' his great regret ' if Pitt should resign, the King in no
way showed that he anticipated the shghtest difficulty
in having the Government carried on without him.
Pitt in his second letter, of February 3, insisted on his
resignation, but never sought to argue or discuss the
question, or to point out that the tests he contemplated
would thoroughly protect the Established Church and
could be so framed as to meet the King's rehgious
objections (he may have felt it was then too late) ; and
he used the comforting words — calculated to dispel aU
alarm in the King's mind — ' he trusts and sincerely
believes that Your Majesty cannot find any long delay
1 Stanhope's Life of Pitt, vol. in. Appendix.

AFTER 1800 309
necessary for forming an arrangement for conducting
your service with credit and advantage.' The King on
February 5 accepted Pitt's resignation, saying in his
letter : ' I must come to the unpleasant decision, as it
wiU deprive me of his political service, of acquainting
him that, rather than forego what I look on as my duty,
I will without unnecessary delay attempt to make the
most creditable arrangement and such as Mr. Pitt will
think most to the advantage of my service, as weU as to
the security of the public'
The whole matter came as a surprise to the public
and to Pitt's coUeagues. On February 5, 1801, he
wrote -^ as follows to Lord Chatham :
Downing Street : Feb. 5, 1801.
My dear Brother, — I have been wishing to write to you
every day this week, but the particular subject on which I was
most anxious to do so has added so much to all the other occu
pations of this busy time as has literally left me not a moment
to dispose of. We have both had experience enough of times of
difficulty not to be unprepared to encounter anything, however
unexpected. I am sure, therefore, that without any preface the
best thing I can do is to put you at once in possession, as far as
I can, of the transaction to which I refer.
You left town before we had resumed in Cabinet the con
sideration of the Catholic Question, on which during the last
' Pretyman MSS. The Bishop gave a good deal of consideration to
this period. There is a curious and interesting memorandum amongst
his papers, written in July 1802, ' relative to Mr. Pitt's going out of office
and Mr. Addington's conduct,' and he there says : ' It is a sign of the pure
and unsuspecting mind of Mr. Pitt that the only person he consulted upon
this occasion was Mr. A. (Addington), although he knew that if he did
resign Mr. A. would be his successor.' It is manifest from the whole tone
of the memorandum that the Bishop did not approve of Addington's
conduct to Pitt on this occasion, or, indeed, during his administration.
He also left a shorter memorandum on Pitt's resignation, referred to in a
later note.

310 PITT
fortnight or three weeks we had had two or three meetings.
As you seemed from our last conversation to have no decided
bias on your mind, and as I did not foresee the extent of the
consequences to which within this week the question has led,
I did not propose to you to come up at a time when I knew it
to be inconvenient to you. ' The result since was that, as far as
our discussions went, the opinion of what would be a majority
of the whole Cabinet seemed to be in favour of repealing the
laws by which Catholics or Dissenters are excluded from office
or Parliament, and making provisions instead, the nature of
which parts of the enclosed correspondence will explain.
We were to have met again on this subject yesterday sennight,
to settle how far any language should be held by the members
of Government on the meeting of Parliament relative to this
point, and to agree on opinions to be submitted to the King ;
but at the Levee that day previous to our meeting the King's
language to more than one of his Ministers was so strong and
unqualified on this subject as to show even then (what has since
been more fully confirmed) that his mind was made up to go to
any extremity rather than consent to the measure in question.
Intimations to the same effect soon reached me from other
quarters, and some in a way which left me no doubt of the in
dustry already used on the question, or of the imprudent degree
to which the Bang's name was committed on a question not yet
even regularly submitted to him. Under these circumstances,
vyith the opinion I had formed and after all that had passed, I
had no option, and had nothing left but to consider how I could
execute the resolution which became unavoidable, at a time and
in a mode likely to produce as little embarrassment as possible.
The enclosed will explain to you all that has since passed and
the final result. I hope on considering them you will think
that what I have done has been right towards the King, the
public, and my own character. I hope also, if possible more
anxiously, that you cannot feel yourself in the smallest degree
implicated in my conduct, and that, being fortunately not com
mitted to any opinion, you will be able to set an example of the
' This would indicate that ' the late ' Lord Chatham attended
Cabinets very irregularly.

AFTER 1800 311
conduct which I shall most earnestly recommend to every friend
I have, of continuing in your situations and giving the most
cordial aid to the Government which the King may form. I
have long been persuaded that, whenever he might have occasion
to do so, the Speaker would be the person to whom he would
resort. It has proved so in the present instance, and I am most
happy to find that the Speaker feels it his duty, in which I have
most strongly and decidedly encouraged him, not to decline the
task. I certainly need not add what my intentions ar© out of
office, those of the most uniform and diligent support. I send
this packet by a messenger, and must trouble you to return the
papers to-morrow, as I have no other copies of them.
Ever, my dear brother, affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
On the following day he also wrote to his old friend.
Bishop Tomline :
Downing Street : Peb. 6, 1801.
My dear Bishop, — I have barely time to write to you two
words on a subject which I fear will give you more pain than
in many points of view it does me. But I trust in these times
you can never be wholly unprepared even for any event which
you may the least expect. A discussion has naturally taken
place, in consequence of the Union, on the question of the Catho
lics, and it has very lately been brought to a point which wUl
very soon render it impossible for me to remain in my present
situation. The particulars I shall wish much to explain to you,
and though I am not sure you will think my opinion on th©
question itself, I am persuaded you will see that with that opimon
my resolution was unavoidable.
I have great comfort in feeling it to be so, and still more in
the fi/rm persuasion that an arrangement can be made to which
I can give a cordial general support, and which may keep every
thing safe. Ever affectionately yours,
William Pitt.
Rose, I believe, wiU write to you, and very likely in a ton©
of despondency which I am sure the case does not call for.

312 PITT
Pitt must in resigning ^ have felt that he was bound
by the strongest obligations of pubhc duty and honour ;
otherwise, in the enormously critical position of affairs
on the Continent, with his country involved in a terrible
war, he should have remained at his post and proved
himself to be the 'Pilot that weathered the storm.'
Either of two courses was not unfairly open to Pitt, and
he might have braced himself boldly to adopt either
one or the other. He might have said : ' This is a matter
of principle and honour. I really encouraged this belief
to pass the Union ; I will stand to my guns ; I wiU do aU
I can to induce the consent of the King, and if he
chooses to take a more complaisant Minister I wiU stiU
adhere to my attitude.' Or he might have said : ' The
interests of the country are in such grave jeopardy from
the terrible war now raging that I cannot abandon the
helm for any question of domestic policy, no matter
what my personal feelings and position may be ; I must
reluctantly yield to the King for the present about
Cathohc relief, but I wiU at all events pass the measure
for tithe commutation and the payment of the CathoUc
and Dissenting clergy.' He adopted neither course.
He most reluctantly resigned. He showed no sus
tained purpose, or firm resolve. He proclaimed the
strongest determination to support Addington, whose
pohcy was to do nothing for Cathohc relief. He
encouraged his brother and many of his coUeagues
' Bishop Tomline, in his memorandum of July 1802 on the resignation,
says: 'From his statement of the case I thought he did rightly in
resigning ; perhaps I was not a little disposed to his opinion from know
ing that Mr. Pitt's health had suffered materially from the fatigues of his
situation, and I could not but hope it might be restored by leisure.'

AFTEE 1800 313
to join the new Government. Sir George C. Lewis,^
reviewing the position years after, said he was unable
to justify or explain the course which Pitt pursued
This conduct of Pitt's was by no means approved by
many of his friends. The action of his colleagues who
consented to join Addington's Government was a good
deal criticised. It is obvious from the foUowing letter^
of the celebrated and beautiful Georgiana Duchess of
Devonshire ^ that pressure was put on several of them
' The Administrations of Great Britain, 1783-1830, pp. 209-212, by
Sir G. 0. Lewis : ' In order to justify the step which he took, when he
found that he was betrayed by some of his coUeagues and that the consent
of the King could not be obtained, two conditions were necessary. First,
that he should be prepared consistently to act upon the policy of bringing
the greatest amount of ParUamentary pressure to bear upon the King
with a view of compeUing him to re-admit a Pittish Ministry to oflfice
without any restrictions as to the Catholic Question. Secondly, that in
the event of the King's resistance being quietly overcome, he should be in
a position which would enable him to use aU the influence of Government
for carrying this question, and to postpone all other considerations to its
success. . . . We can understand two adequate motives for Pitt's resignation
— one, a deep conviction of the importance of his plan and a belief that by
resigning he should promote its chance of success ; the other, a point of
honour that, having authorised Lord CornwaUis and Lord Castlereagh to
obtain support for the Union from the CathoUcs by the promise of ulterior
measures of relief, he was boimd, if prevented by the King jfirom fulfiUing
this promise, to retire from power. But neither of these reasons is con
sistent with his resigning his oflfice in February because the King refused
his consent to the measure of Catholic relief, and his signifying his
readiness to resume oflfice in March, although the King's consent is stiU
withheld.' * Pelham MSS,, British Museum.
^ In the Dictionary of National Biography the foUowing description
of the Duchess is attributed to Horace Walpole : ' She effaces all, without
being a beauty ; but her youthful figure, flowing good nature, sense and
lively modesty, and modest famUiarity make her a phenomenon.' She
once asked Fox to write an impromptu charade, and when he asked for a
subject she named herself. He at once wrote :
' My first is myself in a very short word ;
My second 's a plaything ; and you are my third.' (Idol.)

314 PITT
by their friends to abstain. She was a popular, clever,
and highly-gifted woman, who presided over one of the
great political salons of the day. Feb. 9, 1801.
My dear Mr. Pelham, — The very great regard I have for
you makes me officiously and perhaps (? ) write to you.
I arrived Saturday and saw my dear brother. I heard you
had refused, but last night I heard they were pressing you to
death, and before you have determined allow a faithful and sin
cere friend to say a few words. Do not betray me, for no one
knows I write. Accept it as a proof of affection, and also
believe that I shall be persuaded whatever you do you do for
the best.
I own I shall be most truly sorry if you accept, not only in
a public view but in a private one, and I am sure you will not
be offended at my stating my reasons. The King's obstinacy
and the impossibility of Mr. Pitt yielding is a most alarming
circumstance for the country. Can you suppose it possible that
Ireland will brook this disappointment ? or that advantage will
not be taken by Buonaparte ? As for Mr. Pitt's idea of forming
an Administration, whilst I admire his disinterestedness I con
demn it, for he is canvassing in fact for a measure he considers
himself to be full of every kind of danger, and what can he
hope from an Administration that sets out with all the talents of
Opposition on one side, and the talents of his Administration at
best neutral ? It would be fairer at once to let the King see the
danger of his situation than to entice him into false hopes. My
private reason is that no one but myself would perhaps dare to
tell you the kind of contempt and scorn in which those who
stay in are held, not only by opponents, but by all the friends
of the old Govemment. You know how much I see of all sides,
and you know, I am sure, by the liberty I am taking, which I
think my duty to you, how much I value you.
Forgive this letter, and forget it if it is too late ; but I own
I think those who stay in are dupes to the King, or rather to
the King's secret advisers — that they will do no good, that they
will be the sacrifice and be shut out for ever from all the

AFTEE 1800 315
other Administrations that may arise. You are too precious to
act under so ridiculous a Chancellor of the Exchequer and First
Lord. For God's sake forgive this ! If you are determined, I
shall endeavour to think better than I do of your new friends.
If you are not, and I hope to persuade you, I shall feel secure
that some day or other you will thank me. Let me see you
soon, and do forgive the (? ) and impudent zeal of this
letter, my good friend. G. DEVONSmEE.
No wonder the King was pleased that in face of aU
obstacles Addington was able to form his Government.
Bishop Tomline thus ^ describes his reception of Pitt
at the Levee of February 11, 1801 :
The Levee was remarkably full — but few or none of the
Opposition were there. As soon as Mr. Pitt appeared, the
King, then standing near the door, broke from the persons
to whom he was speaking and moved towards him with the
most eager graciousness imaginable. He then said, loud enough
to be heard at some distance, ' Mr. Pitt, I am glad to se©
you — I hav© a great deal to say to you — you have acted
throughout this business like yourself, and more 1 cannot say.'
Mr. Pitt bowed with the greatest respect, and said, in a way
endeavouring to stop the conversation, ' Your Majesty has
already said much more than the occasion required.' 'No, no;
I must see you presently, I have a good deal to say to you. You
have done everything you should do — so unlike your predecessors
— I don't car© who hears me [upon Mr. Pitt's evident wish to
prevent his saying more] — I would have all the world hear me
— I cannot say too much of your conduct.' Mr. Pitt went after
wards to the King in his closet and stayed some time. The
King expressed in the strongest terms his perfect satisfaction,
his extreme regret, and his affectionate attachment. He was
several times much affected — expressed an earnest hope that
though this unhappy circumstance, in which both had acted from
a principle of duty, had deprived him of Mr. Pitt as his Minister,
1 Memorandum of the Bishop (Pretyman MSS.).

316 PITT
he might ever consider him as his friend, and that he should
continue to see him often. And to this Mr. Pitt replied in the
strongest terms of gratitude and attachment, but added, ' If he
did not appear before His Majesty as often as his love and affec
tion would naturally lead him to do, he trusted His Majesty
would attribute it to its true source — that of his zeal for the ease
and satisfaction of His Majesty, as it seemed to him of the
highest importance to His Majesty's Govemment that it should
appear to stand upon its own bottom.'
At first Pitt was apparently resolute in his con
victions, and entertained the idea that he would never
again come back to office without perfect freedom to
carry them out. But he soon began to waver about
any such pledge. The Bishop in writing to his wife on
February 25, 1801, describes^ a curious interview with
Pitt on the subject : ' We afterwards came to the import
ant point ofthe Catholic Question, about which we talked
a long time. He said that he had intended to pledge him
self never to come into office without fuU permission to
propose that measure, upon the ground of thinking that
by so doing he should keep the CathoUcs of Ireland
more quiet, from the hope that they might succeed in
their wishes at some future time. I argued warmly
and strongly upon this point, and Mr. Pitt owned that
even what had now happened to the King in some sort
shook his determination. I endeavoured to persuade
him on public grounds that he ought to leave himself at
liberty. ... He would not absolutely promise not
to pledge himself, but I am satisfied he wiU not.'
The Bishop was right, and it is manifest that even
in the conversation Pitt was hesitating. There is a
• Pretyman MSS.

AFTEE 1800 317
letter ^ of Eose to George HI. in which he says, referring
to Pitt and this subject, ' It affords me great satisfaction
to be able to say to Your Majesty that in whatever situa
tion, public or private, he may happen to be, he will not
bring forward the question respecting the Catholics of
Ireland, and that, if it should be agitated by others, he
wiU supply a proposition for deferring the consideration
of it.' It is unfortunate that the letter is undated. It
is printed between two letters both dated February 6,
1801, but it could hardly have been written before
Pitt's conversation with the Bishop.
Addington was a man of good ability,^ of high
personal character, and who had with distinction and
success for many years fiUed the office of Speaker. He
was a trusted friend of Pitt, who often consulted him
on questions of importance ; and when the King selected
him to be the new Minister, Pitt gave to the selection
the most cordial approval. There never was a man
called to great office under circumstances of greater com
plexity and difficulty. History has hardly given him his
due. It has been his hard lot to be always contrasted
with Pitt, a Prime Minister of over seventeen years'

1 Diaries and Correspondence of Bight Hon. George Bose, i. 360.
Eose was deeply attached to Pitt. His love for him was entirely dis
interested. He contributed to the private ftmd for the payment of his
debts, and insisted on resigning with him. Later on h© refused to be
ChanceUor of the Exchequer.
^ Dean MUman, however, the friend and defender of Addington,
admits ' he was not up to the very high position he had attained' (The
Administrations of Great Britain, p. 218, by Sir G. C. Lewis). Canning
rather unfairly described him as one of the rulers who
' Very little mean.
But mean that Uttle weU.'

318 PITT
standing, with a great record and exceptional gifts.
Judged by his words and actions, by the difficulties he
had to face on the Continent and in England, in the
House of Commons and out of it, with the occasional
friendship, sometimes the precarious neutrality, and as
often the real hostility of Pitt, Addington comes fairly
weU out of the ordeal. His letters are worthy and
dignified. His motives were always honourable and
upright, and he was ever animated by a sincere sense of
duty and patriotism.
George III. had a short mental attack before the
formal steps were taken for the change of office ; and
he remained incapacitated for over a fortnight — from
about February 18 to March 6.
This caused much sympathy for the Throne, and
Pitt, no doubt animated by this natural feehng, as weU
as by the Bishop's arguments, while the King was
recovering conveyed^ a message to him that during
his hfe he would never seek to agitate again the Catholic
Question. Pitt's friends became active in asking why,
under these altered circumstances, should Pitt not stay
on — why should he hand over the seals, stiU in his
actual possession? Canning strongly held this view,
and expressed it very plainly in a letter^ to Pitt :
^ Pretyman MSS., memorandum relative to Pitt's resignation in
February 1801 by Bishop Tomline : ¦ After H.M. was considerably re
covered and before Mr. Pitt had resigned, Mr. Pitt met Dr. WiUis at Mr.
Addington's house, and, in the hearing of Mr. Addington, he desired Dr.
T. WiUis to assure H.M. that he would never bring forward the CathoUc
Question, whether iu office or out of office, during his reign.' It would
be interesting to know if Eose's letter to the King was written before or
after this incident.
' Pretyman MSS.

AFTEE 1800 319
[Most private] Pay Office, Sunday night : March 8, 1801.
Although I had for many reasons determined not to obtrude
upon you at this moment any suggestions of mine, and though
I certainly have no reason to flatter myself that any advice
which I might propose upon the subjects now depending is
likely to have much weight with you, I do yet, after the most
painful and anxious deliberation, feel myself impelled by a sense
of what is due to our friendship to state to you my opinion as
to the conduct which the public has a right to expect, and does
expect from you, under the present circumstances.
Speaking from such an impulse, though I may do no good, I
trust I shall not appear to you to stand in need of much apology.
Not to detain you therefore with any longer preface — I am
thoroughly convinced that, under the present circumstances, you
ought to offer to withdraw your resignation. That the offer, if
made, will b© gladly accepted, no man doubts : that it ought to
be made, and will be made and accepted, is the p©rsuasion of
every man who wishes well to you and to the country. For it
are all considerations of public honour and public interest:
against it nothing but miserable, petty, personal considerations,
which, so far as they relate to yourself, would be matter of sur
prise and regret, and of as loud expressed disapprobation as I
believe the well-disposed part of the nation will ever permit
themselves to us© respecting almost any action of yours ; and
which, so far as any other persons may be suspected to be the
objects or the abettors of them, will excite universal indignation
and ridicule.
In substance I can figure to mys©lf but two difficulties at
which you can hesitate : The first, a point of honour, as the
grounds on which you have given in your resignation ; the second
a point of delicacy towards your intended successor.
As to the first — ^you will not deny, what everybody else
takes for granted, that the Catholic Question is disposed of for
the present. What remains therefore is purely personal between
yourself and the King. Surely you can feel it no point of
honour to be sturdy, when the cause and the practical advan
tages of your sturdiness are, by your own confession, taken away.
Surely there can be no humiliation in appearing to concede in

320 PITT
some measure to your Sovereign what at all events must be con
ceded ; and even if there were, surely towards such a Sovereign,
in such a situation, a spirit less gentle and a mind less manly
and less regulated than yours might humble itself so far without
much struggle.
The other point relates to what you may suppose yourself to
owe to your successor ; but in adjusting this to your own feelings
and his (which ever might be) let me remind you that there is a
third party which has a claim to have its interests taken into
account — the public.
I will not enlarge upon this point, as I know you would
consider my judgment upon it as not likely to be very impartial
and unprejudiced : and perhaps I could not argue it through
out either so temperately or so gravely as you would like. But
I trust, for the sake of the person in question, that he will not
have left it to be argued ; that at the moment at which I am
writing he will already have taken on his part such steps as
must render all your scruples vain, and all arguments therefore
from me or from anyone else wholly superfluous. Believing that
he spoke the sentiments of his heart when he averred (as in one
insta/nce I Tcnow he did aver) that his first wish and object was
that you should return to the situation which he held, as it were,
in trust for you — it would be in the highest degree unjust and
uncharitable if I were not to believe that he is the first man to
hail the opportunity, which he must, in common with all man
kind, see is now presented for the accomplishment of a wish in
which all mankind joins with him.
I know no other consideration which could influence you
except it were th© apprehension arising in your mind that you
might be accused or suspected of clinging to office and so forth.
I feel that I have some right to treat this sort of apprehension
the more freely as it is precisely that which I had to overcome
before I conld resolve to speak my mind to you upon this subject.
The scorn and shame with which I now look back upon such a
difficulty standing in the way of the execution of such a duty is
an assurance to my mind of the Uttle weight which you will allow
to any scruples of a similar nature, if they should present them
selves to you as obstacles to the great duty which you are called
upon to perform — or of the deep, though perhaps unavaihng.

AFTEE 1800 321
regret with which you will hereafter reflect upon your decision
if (which God forbid) you should unfortunately allow them to
have any weight in determining it.
I have but one word to add — what I hav© here written is
written, I assure you upon my honour, in concert with no man,
and with the knowledge of no man. That you may have received
the like suggestions from other quarters I certainly have some
reasons to believe. To them I am no party. I declare my own
opinion and my own feelings. If by anything that may have
been urged from other quarters you shall be induced to adopt
the conduct which I would recommend, I shall not take to my
self any shar© of the merit of having prevailed with you to do so ;
but if, contrary to all our wishes and feelings and opinions, you
shall unhappUy persist in an opposite system, it will be, to the
latest hour of my life, a satisfaction and comfort to me that I
hav© not left undone what little was in my power to divert you
from a resolution fatal, as I think, to your own credit and
imminently hazardous to th© saf©ty of the country.
Most affoctionately yours,
G. C.
Pitt no doubt felt perplexed and showed some
infirmity of purpose. He loved power and was accus
tomed to it. Office and authority had become second
nature to him. When he conveyed to the King that he
would not agitate the Catholic Question again during
the King's reign, he removed the strongest objection
George IH. might feel to seeing him again his Minister.
Whether he was acting fairly to the Catholics, or con
sistently with his own action in resigning on the subject
a few weeks before, is quite another question. Whether
the pledge given to the King could be made to read
entirely in unison with the statements made by Lord
CornwaUis, at Pitt's suggestion, to quiet the Irish
Catholics after his resignation, is also quite a different T

322 PITT
matter. Pitt, however, would have been most pleased
to resume office, but only if his conditions could
have been satisfied — ^if the King and Addington had
spontaneously taken the initiative in requesting him
to do so. The project had to be abandoned, as Pitt
would not stoop to any intimation of his views,
and Addington would not make the first move. The
foUowing letter^ of Dundas to Pelham states the
position : Clarges Street : March II, I80I.
My dear Sir, — Our project may, and I have no doubt will,
succeed some time hence, when some of our friends have
measured their strength and discovered difficulties of which they
are not at present aware. Before the King's illness I was very
sanguine in my hopes of the new arrangement being so supported
as to enable it to go on without much risk. Many things have
recently occurred to shake me in that confidence. In short, th©
question has already totally changed its complexion, from the
circumstances which are too well known to you to require detail.
Awkward, however, as the circumstances are, we must do every
thing in our power to uphold the strength of Government in the
hands of those with whom the King is to place it.
Mr. Pitt went from me last night to call on the Duke of
Portland to prevent him from going to Mr. Addington. He
re-stated in a conversation with me the grounds of doubt he
formerly detailed, but at bottom the real reason is his perfect
conviction that it could not be accomplished with the perfect
goodwill of the successor intended, and that a spontaneous
desire on his part, much beyond a bare acquiescence, was abso
lutely necessary to warrant him giving it even a consideration.
This is the substance of what passed, and I am satisfied that all
further attempts at present are vain. I therefore did not dis
courage him from going to the Duke of Portland. If he does
at any time return, it will give him an additional inducement to
' Pelham MSS., British Museum, v. 3107, p. 27.

AFTEE 1800 323
do so that some of th© (material) departments will, I trust, be
found in hands wherein h© may justly confide.
I remain, my dear Sir,
Yours sincerely,
Henry Dundas.
It was hardly possible, or at aU events not reason
able, to expect at that time an adjustment between Pitt
and Addington, having regard to the then position of
affairs. Addington had irrevocably changed his position ;
he had given up the Speakership ; he had the greatness
of being a Prime Minister thrust upon him by Pitt's
own act and with Pitt's cordial approval.^ Addington
answered with dignity when approached on the subject.
He would have been ready to consent to Pitt's resump
tion of power if it was desired by the King, but it was
not for him to make the first move. So the resignation
of Pitt and the accession of Addington were formally
completed, and Pitt all through the early career of the
new Government gave it a loyal support. Then he
began seriously to doubt whether Addington's measures
were for the interest of the country ; and ultimately he
formed the conviction that the sooner Addington was
out of office, the better for the national welfare.^
^ Bishop Tomline in his memorandum on the resignation, dated
July 1802, says that Dundas drew up a scheme for a reconstituted
Administration, vnth Pitt in his former situation and Addington as
Secretary of State, but that Addington ' rejected it with indignation, and
the scheme was dropped.'
" He resided much at Walmer during Addington's administration,
and applied himself to drilling his corps to resist an invasion. What a
gUmpse of his life is given in a letter of Lady Hester's (November 19,
1803) : ' There are generaUy three or four men staying in the house, and
we dine eight or ten almost every other day. MUitary and naval charac
ters are constantly welcome here; women are not, I suppose, because
they do not form any part of our society. Tou may guess, then, what a
T 2

324 PITT
Pitt was absolutely sincere and honest throughout.
His support was honest, his doubts were real, and his
opposition represented his genuine convictions. When
he opposed Addington, he believed in his heart that the
interests and security of the country required a change ;
and having supreme confidence in himself, as he was
well entitled from his record, he deemed it his duty to
let the King know his views.
It is hard, according to our present notions, to under
stand exactly what occurred, or to sympathise with the
methods adopted. Pitt was acting, proudly conscious
of his own rectitude and pubhc spirit, certainly not
animated by a single sordid or unworthy thought ; but,
after reading aU the narratives and aU the letters of the
period, an uncomfortable feeling suggests itself that
pretty fuss they make with me. . . . Mr. Pitt absolutely goes through the
fatigue of a drill sergeant. It is parade after parade, at fifteen or twenty
miles distant from each other. I often attend him, and it is quite as
much (I can assure you) as I am equal to, although I am remarkably
well just now. The hard riding I do not mind, but to remain almost
still so many hours on horseback is an incomprehensible bore, and
requires more patience than you can easUy imagine. However, I suppose
few regiments for the time were ever so forward, therefore the trouble is
nothing. If Mr. Pitt does not overdo it and injure his health, every
other consideration becomes trifling. The extreme care I take, or rather
endeavour to take, of this blessing is rewarded by his minding me more
than any other person, and aUowing me to speak to him upon the subject
of his health, which is always an unpleasant one, and one he particularly
dislikes. . . . Mr. Pitt is determined to remain acting-colonel when his
regiment is caUed into the field. I should not be in the least surprised
any night to hear of the French attempting to land. Indeed, I expect it.
But I feel equaUy certain that those who do succeed wUl neither proceed
nor return ' (Duchess of Cleveland's Life and Letters of Lady Hester
Stanhope), In another letter, of slightly later date, firom Walmer, in the
same volume, Lady Hester has a most characteristic sentence : ' Alex.
Hope has been staying with us. He is too perfect a creature. I cannot
flnd one fault in his character but that of being too good. Such per
fection is amful I '

AFTEE 1800 325
Addington was not treated quite openly, or frankly, or
fairly by all his own coUeagues in these negotiations
between Pitt and the King. Addington was Prime
Minister, and Lord Eldon should have been very sure
that he had the fuU concurrence and that he was acting
with the fuU knowledge of his chief in aU he did
to bring the King and Pitt together to make a new
arrangement. No doubt they were all honourable
men — none of them consciously acting from a single
indirect motive — but Addington was not at the time
satisfied that he was treated altogether fairly by Eldon.
He was a kind and forgiving man, but he could not
help expressing dissatisfaction at the Chancellor having
been the bearer of the letter from Pitt to the King con
taining expressions most injurious to the Government
with which he was acting ; and a calm reading of the
correspondence ^ suggests that, considering Eldon was
Addington's Chancellor,^ he was rather active and
alert to get Pitt back, and not very communicative to
Addington as to the progress of events.
^ Secret Correspondence connected with Mr. Pitt's Betu/rn to Office
in 1804, edited by Lord Stanhope (Spottiswoode and Shaw, 1852).
* Lord CampbeU, with characteristic candour about the motives of his
predecessors, says : ' Conscious that his plotting against Mr. Addington
could not be concealed from the world, and that prima facie he was liable
to the accusation of treachery, he was ever after indefatigable in repeating
the assertion that he was " the King's ChanceUor ' ' and not Mr. Addington's
. . . and he declared " with respect to the ChanceUorship I was indebted
for that office to the King himself, and not, as some supposed, to Mr.
Addington, and as some of Mr. Addington's friends supposed." But if
we give entire credit to these representations, they in no degree mitigate
the censure due to his indirect proceedings ; for the duties of his situation
were the same, however he obtained it, and no degree of royal favour
would entitle him to deceive a coUeague who placed implicit confidence
in his honour ' (Lives of the Lord Chancellors, v. 9, ch. 198).

326 PITT
The correspondence between Pitt and Lord Eldon
was begun on March 20, 1804, by the latter. It is not
suggested that Lord Eldon had then given any intima
tion to Addington of his intercourse with Pitt. It
would appear from the letter ^ of Lord GrenviUe to the
Marquis of Buckingham of April 19, 1804, that it was
only on the preceding day that Addington had given
any express sanction to the action of Lord Eldon, who
had a good month before opened the correspondence
to facihtate Pitt's resumption of office. His Adminis
tration, however, had been crumbling for some time.
Addington plainly regarded Eldon as the natural and
proper person to negotiate the 'new arrangement.'
ViUiers in writing to Pitt in April, 1804, says : 'I imagine
that when you have seen Addington he wiU desire the
ChanceUor to speak to the King upon the subject. He
has already prepared him for such a commission.' ^
There can be no doubt ^ that Addington felt Eldon
had not been sufficiently frank or candid with him ; and
as far as the facts are at present known, there appears
to have been some warrant for this view, but more as
regards the form than the substance of the transaction.*
' stanhope's Ldfe of Pitt, iv. 151.
^ Pretyman MSS., T. VilUers to Pitt.
' PeUew's Life of Lord Sidmouth and Lord Colchester's Diary,
* Dean Milman says : ' I am not quite sure that Brougham is alto
gether wrong in his view of Eldon's conduct, though " intrigue " is a hard
word. The fact I apprehend to be that the sagacious Eldon felt how near
the house was to its faU ' (see the Administrations of Great Britain,
by Sir G. C. Lewis, p. 279). Lord Eosebery deUcately conveys the same
idea (p. 289) : ' Eldon, with the prescience then inherent in the Woolsack,
prepared for a change.' It is manifest that Lord CampbeU was strongly
against Eldon in his estunate of his conduct. The point he most
presses is that Eldon himself in his own narratives does not refer to having
had any correspondence with Pitt : ' I add Lord Eldon's own account of

AFTEE 1800 327
No one has ever attempted to question the perfect
openness and honour of Pitt's own action throughout.
It is obvious, however, that Pitt deemed the occasion
one which caUed for every exertion on his part to
raUy aU his ParUamentary support against Addington.
The foUowing must have been one ^ of a series of
letters written by Pitt to friends in the House of
Commons :
[Private] Wahner Castle : AprU 11, 1804.
My dear Sir, — 1 have had no opportunity lately of knowing
what may be your sentiments with respect to public affairs,
but, seeing that they are very likely very soon to lead to an
important crisis, I am sure from our long habit of acting
together, and from the many proofs I have received of your
friendship and good opinion, you will readily excuse my troubling
you with this confidential letter. You will have seen from what
has passed in Parliament how much I have been dissatisfied for
a considerable time with many parts of the conduct of Govern
ment, particularly in the essential article of what relates to the
defence of th© country. The experience of the last summer
and th© discussions of this session confirm me in the opinion
that while th© Government remains in its present shape and
under its present leader nothing efficient can be expected either
to originate with them or to be fairly adopted and effectually
executed. With this persuasion, and thinking that a system of
his part in the transaction as recorded in his autobiography entitled
The Anecdote Book, showing with what caution this work is to be perused ;
for he would represent that the King was quite recovered when the
change took place. He entirely suppresses his own previous intercourse
with Mr. Pitt, as if the idea of the Minister's return had originated in a
spontaneous order of the King requiring an immediate interview, and he
would induce a belief that after Mr. Pitt was installed it became a
matter of deUberation whether he himself should continue Chancellor,
whereas aU mankind must now beUeve that this was as weU understood
between them as that George III. should continue on the throne ' (Lord
CampbeU's Lives of the Lord Chancellors, v. 9, ch. 198).
^ This letter is in the possession of my old friend, Mr. Eichard J.
Greene, who has kindly permitted me to copy it.

328 PITT
more energy and decision is indispensable with a view both to
the immediate crisis and the many difficulties we may have to
encounter in the course of the present contest, I mean to take
an early opportunity of avowing and acting on these sentiments
more explicitly and decidedly than I have hitherto done ; and I
shall endeavour to give effect to my opinion by the support of
all the friends whom I can collect. My object will be to press
to the utmost those points which I think essential to the public
defence, and at the same time in doing so to make it, if I can,
impossible for the present Government to maintain itself. In
this object I have every reason to beheve that I shall have the
fullest concurrence of all those with whom I have the most
differed on former occasions, and with whom possibly I may as
little agree in future. With their numbers added to my own
more immediate friends, and to the few who have acted with
Lord Granville and Windham, I am persuaded that our division
on any favourable question wUl probably be such as would be
sufficient to shake a much stronger Government than the present ;
and if a considerable strength shows itself in Parliament, I have
no reason to suppose that any insuperable difficulties will arise
in another quarter. Calculations of strength beforehand are
necessarily uncertain, but I think at lowest our numbers cannot
be much less than two hundred, and I should not be surprised if
they were considerably more. I have thus taken the liberty of
explaining to you very frankly my views and expectations. I
do not feel that I have any claim to ask your concurrence and
support, or to do more than to lay the subject fairly before you.
If your own view of the subject coincides with mine it will
certainly be highly gratifying to myself personally, and your
weight and influence with your friends will, I have no doubt, in
that case secure us a valuable accession of strength. I am,
with great regard, my dear sir.
Faithfully and sincerely yours,
W. Pitt.
Pitt, through Lord Eldon, on May 2, submitted
to the King his plan for a new strong and com
prehensive Administration, including Fox, GrenviUe,

AFTEE 1800 . j 329
Windham, Spencer,^and Grey. The King promptly
objected to Fox, who behaved with magnanimity.
He was quite ready to acquiesce, and left his friends
entirely free to join Pitt even if he was excluded.
Pitt did not insist on the retention of Fox in his Ust,
and could make no real fight on the subject after
his advance statements of intention. The King did
not put forward any case of conscience now ; his
objections to Fox were purely personal ; and if Pitt
had persisted, it is quite possible that George HL, as
he did on Pitt's death, in January 1806, would have
accepted Fox as a Minister. His rejection, however, led
to very serious consequences, as Fox's friends refused
to join an Administration from which he was excluded.
GrenviUe wrote the foUowing very plain letter ^ to Pitt :
Camelford House : May 8, 1804.
My dear Pitt, — I have already apprised you that all the
persons to whom, at your desire, I communicated what passed
between us yesterday, agree with me in the decided opinion that
we ought not to engag© in the administration which you are now
employed in forming. . . .
No consideration of personal ease or comfort, no apprehen
sion of responsibility, or reluctance to meet th© real situation
into which the country has been brought, have any weight in
this decision. Nor are we fettered by any engagement on the
subject, either expressed or implied. We rest our determina
tion solely on our strong sense of the impropriety of our becom
ing parties to a system of government which is to be formed, at
such a moment as th© present, on a principle of exclusion. It
is unnecessary to dwell on the mischiefs which have already
resulted from placing the great offices of Government in weak and
incapable hands. We see no hope of any effectual remedy for
these mischiefs but by uniting in the public service ' as large a
^ Buckingham's Courts a/nd Cabinets of George III., ii. 253.

830 PITT
proportion as possible of the weight, talents, and characters to
be found in public men of all descriptions and without any
exception.' This opinion I have had occasion to express to you
in the same words, and we have for some time past been pubUcly
acting in conformity to it. Nor can we, while we remain with
this persuasion, concur in defeating an object for which the
circumstances of the present moment afford at once so strong
an inducement and so favourable an occasion. An opportunity
now offers, such as this country has seldom seen, for giving to
its Government in a moment of peculiar difficulty the full benefit
of the services of all those who by the public voice and senti
ment are judged most capable of contributing to its prosperity
and safety. The wishes of the public on this subject are com
pletely in unison with its interests ; and the advantages which
not this country alone, but all Europe and the whole civilised
world, might derive from the establishment of such an Adminis
tration at such a crisis would probably have exceeded even the
most sanguine expectations.
We are certainly not ignorant of the difficulties which might
have obstructed the final accomplishment of such an object,
however earnestly pursued. But when in the very first instance
all trial of it is precluded, and when this denial is made the
condition of all subsequent arrangements, we cannot but feel
that there are no motives, of whatever description, which
could justify our taking an active part in the estabUsh
ment of a system so adverse to our deliberate and declared
opinions. Believe me ever, my dear Pitt,
Most affectionately yours, Grenville.
Much that GrenvUle wrote was true, but he was
not the man to write it. Patriotism, public and private
ties, his own previous words and actions, should have
compeUed Grenville to stand by Pitt. His desertion
cut Pitt to the heart.
' I will teach that proud man,' he said, ' that in the

AFTEE 1800 331
service and in the confidence of the King I can do
without him, though I think my health such that it
may cost me my life.'
What should Pitt have done when he found that,
owing to the King's action, he was unable to form the
broad, strong, comprehensive Ministry that he thought
the interests of the country then required ? He had,
it is true, hampered himself by a previous avowal that
he would be willing to form a Government, even if the
King ' resolved to exclude the friends of Mr. Fox and
Lord GrenviUe.' But stiU the anxious question remains.
What should a strong Prime Minister, thinking of all
the circumstances that had to be taken into account,
have done ?
Pitt had shown what kind of Ministry he knew was
needed. In his letter ^ of May 2, 1804, he had sketched
with great power, for the King, the advantages of the
' comprehensive system ' he deemed necessary, using
weighty words : ' My opinion is founded on the strong
conviction that the present critical situation of this
country, connected with that of Europe in general and
with the state of political parties at home, renders it
more important and essential than perhaps at any
other period that ever existed to endeavour to give the
greatest possible strength and energy to His Majesty's
Government by endeavouring to unite in his service as
large a proportion as possible of the weight of talents
and connections, drawn without exception from parties
of all descriptions, and without reference to former
differences and divisions.'
' Stanhope's Life of Pitt, vol. iv., app. iv.

332 PITT
He had argued with the King for Fox, been refused
and submitted, being told he might have GrenviUe and
his friends. He apparently thought it useless to press
the King with the argument that without Fox he could
not have Fox's friends, and that the alternative of a
poor weak Ministry alone remained. If Pitt, indeed,
had told the King that the interests of the country
precluded the adoption of this alternative, sooner or
later his terms would probably have been accepted.
But this involved a contest with the King, and possibly
much delay.
If Pitt's selfishness had been greater, or his patriot
ism less strong, he might possibly have refused to
undertake the task of heading an Administration quite
unequal to its vast duties. But his difficulties in re
fusing would be very great. The King's health was
barely recovered and was stiU precarious. This made
it weU-nigh impossible for Pitt to put on an unstable
brain the pressure of his commanding mind and master
ful logic, to effect even a great patriotic object. His
refusal or holding back might mean a relapse of the
King, with possibly Eegency debates in the midst of a
crisis, or leaving the Government in hands discredited
by public opinion. He was attached to the King, and
he loved his country. He had to consider both. He
could not turn back.
It is impossible not to entertain the deepest and
profoundest sympathy for Pitt when, on May 10, 1804,
knowing it might cost him his life, he felt bound to
accept the Seals of office and to head his second feeble
Cabinet.

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333

CHAPTEE XI
BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT — LAST DAYS
The Bishop — Lifelong friendship with Pitt — Private secretaries of Pitt —
Twenty letters of Pitt to Bishop — Bishop takes name of Tomline —
Bishop's letter to his wife on Pitt's criticism of his sermon — Her
reply — Pitt wished to make Bishop Primate— His letter to King —
King's reply — Eesult — Pitt's last iUness — Bishop's ' memorandum on
last hours of Pitt ' — His paper ' Mr. Pitt's last days at Putney ' — Pitt's
death— -Lady Hester Stanhope's letter three days after — Pitt's respect
for religion — Canning — Wilberforce — Pitt's last words — His last speech
— His kindly view of men's motives — Motion in Parliament for public
funeral and monument — Opposition of Fox and his firiends — Wind
ham's conduct ungracious — Debate in House of Commons — Motions to
pay Pitt's debts — Inscription on monument in Westminster Abbey —
Estimate of Pitt's career.
One of Pitt's most intimate, most constant, and most
trusted friends aU through his life was Dr. Pretyman,
afterwards better known as Bishop Tomline. Pretyman
was a man of good family, of learning and information ;
a man of eminence at the University, a Senior Wrangler
and a Fellow of the Eoyal Society, who from the time
that Pitt went to Cambridge became his confidant and
friend. He must have been a man of considerable
force of character and attractiveness of disposition — fuU
of sympathy, loyalty, and prudence — to have won and
retained aU through Pitt's life his warm and hearty
regard. There never was the sUghtest breach or inter
ruption in the affection which bound them to each

334 PITT
other. Pitt was never too busy to see Tomhne, who
for some time acted as his confidential secretary ; ^ he
was always glad to interchange views with him, and
ever anxious to ascertain his opinion on the questions
of the day.
Tomline must have been a true friend, and had the
rare gift of infusing confidence and trust. A man who
could so inspire Pitt was no ordinary man. Possibly
his biography of Pitt has unduly lessened his reputa
tion. It is true that the part he published was mainly
composed of public materials of no special personal
interest, but it should not be forgotten that he contem
plated bringing out in a later volume the private,
domestic, and family notices and information. It is
probable he was prevented from completing his task
by the reflection that the events were too recent to
justify publication so soon after Pitt's death.
They saw one another so often that there was the
less need for correspondence, as Pitt's house and table
were always open to the Bishop. The foUowing ex
tracts^ from the correspondence show how close was
the confidence between them, and what reliance Pitt
always placed on the Bishop's loyalty and sympathy :
Downing Street : Saturday Morning.
I am going to-day to dine at Lord Abercorn's. I shall be
' Pitt's private secretary during the principal part of his first Adminis
tration was ' Joe ' Smith, as he was familiarly caUed. He was succeeded
by Carthead. On Pitt's returning to office in 1804 WUUam D. Adams
became private secretary. In the account of Pitt's funeral in the London
Gazette E. MarshaU walked as private secretary, whUe Mr. Joseph Smith
and Mr. Adams are named as ComptroUer and Treasurer of the House
hold. ' Pretyman MSS.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 335
here till half-past three, and shall return by twelve on Monday,
and hope one way or the other to see you.
Yours affectionately,
W. P.
Wednesday, 2 p.m.
My dear Bishop, — I find there is a Cabinet dinner to-day,
firom which it is impossible for me to escape. There will be
dinner for you here, if your conditional engagement with Rose
does not hold. If I am not kept very late, we may probably
meet in the evening. Yours ever,
W. P.
Downing Street : November 4, 1787, J past 10.
My dear Bishop, — Th© Bishop of London died yesterday, in
consequence of which I wrote last night to the King, recom
mending the Bishop of Chester to succeed. As soon as I have
the King's answer, I will send to the Bishop. I am much
embarrassed about a successor for Chester. This is a Cambridge
tum. . . . Pray let me know what you think about it. On
the subject of High Steward, I own to you I am rather in
different, but perhaps it is a proper mark of attention to
academical honours to appear to desire. If that is so, and if
the success is pretty certain (of which I have not much doubt),
I would certainly propose myself. Of course, the idea can onlv
be mentionod in conversation at present ; but before that is
done, I wish you would be so good as to consult particularly
any friends you think material. P. (?), for instance, and
Parmer. It should also, out of attention, be mentioned to
Turner. You will be so good as to decid© for me, upon what
you hear, and if your opinion is I should stand, let it b© known
immodiately. ... I have been much hurt on every account at
the loss of the Duke of Rutland, He has given me a strong
proof of his friendship and confidence in naming me on© of the
executors and guardians of his children. Lord Buckingham,
you see, goes to Ireland ; and Fitzherbert is his secretary. . . .
I went yesterday to HoUwood to begin my summer, but was
called back by some foolish business before night. I am going,

336 PITT
however, to make another trial, and mean to stay till Wednesday.
Ryder moves our Address in the House of Commons. I am
not quite without hopes that my brother may be brought to
undertake it in the House of Lords. This, of course, is between
ourselves. This long letter is partly the effect of a Sunday
morning service and partly of the Chancellor being, as usual,
an hour too late for an appointment.
I shall send it by a messenger, being impatient to know
what you say to the first part of it.
Ever yours affectionately,
W. Pitt.
The effect of the termination of our French business seems
everywhere just what one should wish.
HoUwood : Monday, March 24, 1788.
My dear Bishop, — I have been extremely concerned to learn
the loss which you and Mrs. Pretyman have sustained, though,
from the account you have before sent me, I apprehended it was
but too probable. I should not break in upon you merely to
say what, I trust, you will always be assured of — how much I
share in your feelings in everything that can interest your
happiness and hers. My object is to beg that you will let
me know by a single line how both of you are, and how
Mrs. Pretyman has supported the shock. I am here, recovering
entirely the effect of our late fatigues, which have at length
ended very prosperously, and will leave no bad effect of any
kind behind them. Adieu. Ever affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
Cleveland Bow : June 26, 2 p.m.
My dear Bishop, — I just this moment learn from Grenville
that the Slave Question will come to a division on Friday next.
I am very sorry to trouble you on so short a warning, but pray
come if you possibly can. I fear Cambridge, is out of the
question. Yours affectionately,
W. P.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 337
Downing Street : May 27, 1791.
My dear Bishop, — I hear from many quarters likely to know
that th© Bishop of Durham is now in immediate danger, among
the rest from Lord S., who expresses great anxiety to have
Dr. V. placed on the Bench, and points very strongly at
Lichfield (if the present Bishop should be removed) on account
of its local convenienc©. Many difficulties strike rae — its being
a Cambridge turn ; Lichfield being too good, to begin with ;
its interfering with arrangements which might vacate Beadon's
livings ; and, besides all the rest, a doubt whether Dr. V-
is of consideration enough in th© Church to make his promotion
g©n©rally satisfactory. On th© other hand, it is impossible for
any man's claims to be stronger than those of Lord S. ask
ing for so near a relation. The objection about Cambridge
might perhaps be got over, as it will not be supposed that it
will not hav© its equal share in the long-run while it depends
on me, and there are certainly no personal claims from thence
which are very pressing. Pray let me know what you think,
as the event may happen soon. . . .
Best compliments to Mrs. Pretyman. Ever yours,
W. Pitt.
I have just learnt that the Bishop of Durham is actually
dead. As I could not get your answer by the post till Monday,
I send this by a messenger, with orders not to interrupt you at
an unseasonable hour. I shall los© no time in proposing to the
King to ofier Durham to Barrington, and, if he accepts, Salis
bury to Cornwallis.
A letter of January 4, 1792, shows Pitt in the rare
position of trying to grapple with domestic difficulties !
The method he adopted was to postpone them !
I only found your letter on coming to town for the Leeve
to-day, and have therefore not had time to hear Wood's story
in all its detail, but I hav© had the outlines.
I think if (? Arcularius !) and Macfarlane confirm that
part of it for which he refers to them, it will be sufficient to
Z

338 PITT
satisfy me that I cannot keep my cook. My present impression
is that there is an appearance of a sort of combination between
the latter and Carter against Wood, and, if that is the case, I
should neither think it fair towards him, nor prudent in point
of example, to part with him at present, as I had intended. I
incline, therefore, to think that if nothing arises to change my
mind again, I shall change my plan, and fairly make the trial
of another year, whether by submitting to be a little more boar'd
than I like I can give Wood countenance enough to enable him
to manage my family.
In this case I shall perhaps propose to him to take charge
of the cellar. . . . Downing Street : Sept. 19, 1792.
My dear Bishop, — I have settled that the Bishop of Exeter
shall relinquish the Deanery of Canterbury and the Prebendary
of Winchester,' and have desired Smith to talk with you as to
the best use to be made of them.
I think you mentioned to me some time since that a son of
Mr. Frere was very fit for some situation of business, and that
his father wished it for him. You also once mentioned Maltby,
of Pembroke, with a view to that line. I am not sure when it
was, and perhaps he may have taken orders in the interval.
There is now au office under Dundas to be disposed of, the
business of which is to abstract and register a great deal of the
correspondence in the Secretary of State's office, and the salary is
about 200Z. He wishes to have it well filled, and it occurred
to me that one or other of these young men might do for
it. . . . If these should be out of the question, can you tell me
of anyone really worth bringing forward ?
Ever affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
Downing Street : June 19, 1798.
My dear Bishop, — Many thanks for your letter. I am
certainly much recovered within this fortnight, and though I have
had to-day some slight return of my complaint, I believe, upon
' This reference shows that at the time it was not at aU unusual for a
Bishop to be a pluralist. Several of the Bishops of that day held Deaneries.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 339
the whole, I am much better in my general health than I have
been during most of the session. But I feel still the ©ffects,
which you know but too well, of having been so long making
exertions beyond my real strength ; and th© knowing that I am
not equal to doing all that at such a moment I wish is probably
what most retards my progress. I teach myself, however, as
much patience as I can, and I am persuaded I am going on in
th© right course. I shall be for some time principally at HoU
wood, only coming to town occasionally to keep up the thread
of business ; and even here I have many hours of leisure in the
cours© of the day. Whenever, therefore, you can best spare the
day or two you talk of, I shall be happy to see you.
Our accounts from the North of Ireland to-day are very
good, many of th© r©bels having submitted after successes
gained over them by General Nugent. We shall probably hear
in a day or two th© result of our principal attack upon Wex
ford. W© are, I think, entitled to expect with little doubt that
our fleet will have reached the Mediterranean in time to frus
trate Buonaparte's expedition, whatever may be its destination,
and if we ar© not very much out of luck, we are not unlikely to
have had an opportunity of attacking him.
Ever yours affectionately,
W. Pitt.
With best compliments to Mrs. Pretyman.
Saturday, 40 m. past 2.
My dear Bishop, — My brother being to go to Windsor in
the evening, I hav© promised him dinner on table here at half-
past four o'clock. I hope that time wUl suit you as well as
five, but if not I will keep some dinner for you. Elliot is
rather better. Yours ever,
W. P.
Burton Pynsent : Aug. 26, 1798.
My dear Bishop, — I agree with you entirely that I ought
to take no part in the election of Dr. Waring's successor, and
if you have no particular reason for th© contrary, it seems best
that you should be neuter also. You will b© happy to hear
z 2

340 PITT
that I have found my mother extremely well. My niece is
unluckily gone to Port Eliot. I shall watch with anxiety the
issue of the storm which you think is to burst on the Turkish
Empire. I wish the skirts of it may not reach India.
Ever affectionately yours,
W. P.
Downing Street : Oct. 24, 1798.
My dear Bishop, — . . . . My paper on the tithe plan is
nearly completed. I will send it you as soon as it is ready, and
shall be glad to know what you think of it before the Arch
bishop sees it. I am impatient that the measure should at
least be correctly understood, though it may perhaps be advisable
to delay bringing it forward till another session, or at least
till after the 25th March, when the time allowed for those who
have a preference in purchasing the land tax wiU expire.
Farquhar's regimen (aided probably by our victories and the
state of the revenue) has succeeded so well that he abandons
all idea of Buxton, &c. ; and if I go on as I am doing for
another month, I have great hopes of being equal to all the
busy scene that is approaching. I shall return the end of the
week to HoUwood, where planting, &c., occupies me so much
and agrees with me so well that I shall hardly be tempted to
auy more distant excursions before Parliament meets.
Ever yours affectionately,
W. Pitt.
Downing Street : May 26, 1799.
My dear Bishop, — I feel some reluctance in breaking in
upon you, but there are such strong symptoms of mutiny on
the subject of the Sierra Leone BUl, and it is become from
collateral circumstances a subject of so much importance to the
whole character both of the House of Lords and of Govem
ment, that I cannot help earnestly begging you, if possible, to
be in town by Tuesday next. The business, I am afraid, will
be such as to detain you for five or six days at least. You will
probably find it most convenient to take your bed here. We
have further accounts to-day of the progress of Suvarrow, which

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 841
are nearly decisive as to the deliverance of Italy, and every
thing promises well for that of all Europe at no distant period.
Ever affectionately yours, W. Pitt.
The next letter is undated, but it preserves the
even tenor of intimate confidence :
My dear Bishop, — I have just read an account that the
Dean of Durham died at Buxton last Thursday. I have written
to the King, proposing to give it to the Bishop of Peterborough,
which he will of course agree to. A decision must therefore be
taken respecting Trinity College. Pray let me know what you
think will be best. Preston s©ems out of the question, unless
the Bishop of Pet©rborough keeps Trinity until there is some
vacancy on the Bench. . . .
I am kept in town till next Wednesday at least, the King
having been prevented by a swelled face from coming to the
Levee at least. There is also to-morrow sennight another
festival at Windsor, from which I know not whether I shall
escape. At all events, however, I shall sooner or later make
my second visit to Burton, and I think I shall find two or three
days for Cambridge in November. Ever yours,
W. Pitt.
Downing Street : Friday, Jan. 24, 1800.
My dear Bishop, — You will see that the debate is fixed for
Tuesday next in the House of Lords, and we should be glad if
you can conveniently attend. In that case we might in the
course of the week resume the ecclesiastical plan. I have a
particular reason (which I will explain to you when we meet)
for wishing to know as much as I can of the character of a Mr.
Tikell, a young man now in the 15th Light Dragoons, who was
educated at Harrow and was afterwards at St. Johns, whiteh he
left (I think) between one and two years ago. If you can learn
anything from the latter quarter I should be much obHged
to you. Ever affectionately yours,
W. P.

342 PITT

Wimbledon : Saturday.
My dear Bishop, — I have just received your letter, and
should be much obliged to you if you will let the Dean of
Peterborough know that I had from the first determined to
recommend him in consequence of the present vacancy, and
that the only reason of my not having written to him is the
uncertainty what translations may take place, and consequently
what see I shall ultimately have to propose to him. . . . The
only application which I have had from the Bench is one to-day
from the Bishop of St. David's. I rather think he might wait,
and that I might recommend Sutton at once for Norwich.
Pray let me know whether any better arrangement occurs to
you. I am got perfectly well. Ever yours,
W. Pitt.
Walmer Castle : Sunday, Sept. 19, 1802.
My dear Bishop, — I am very happy to be able, instead of
leaving it to my servant, to obey your orders, to answer your
kind inquiry myself. Farquhar's account will have carried on
my history as far as Friday, and will, I hope, have set you at
ease about me. My progress ever since has been favourable,
and as rapid as, after being so much reduced, I could possibly
expect. My complaint has totally left me, my appetite and
strength are returning, and I find myself able yesterday and
to-day to tak© sauntering rides without fatigue, and to enjoy
this retum of summer. A very few days will, I am persuaded,
restore me to all the health and strength which I have been able
to boast of most of the time that I have been here. The only
consequence of this attack, I believe, wUl be that it wUl induce
Farquhar to resume the plan which he had laid aside of sending
me to Bath, and though I should like much better to remain here
till Parliament meets, I shall obey without hesitation. Remember
me kindly to Mrs. Pretyman and to the boys.
Ever affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 343
Bromley HaU, April 16, 1803.
My dear Bishop, — I find it wUl save me a good deal of
trouble to come to town for a few hours on Monday morning,
and I shall therefore endeavour to see Smith and talk over the
state of my private business before we come to you at dinner.
As this is the case, you will, I am sure, have no objection to
adding Rose to our party if h© is dis©ngag©d, as I shall not
easily find any other time during my stay in town to see him at
any leisure. I shall have my carriage in town.
Ever affectionately yours,
W. P.
The Bishop was left a valuable property in Lincoln
shire in 1803, and Pitt at once wrote warmly con
gratulating him :
York Place : June 28, 1803.
My dear Bishop, — I was unable to find five minutes yester
day to tell you (what, however, I trust you cannot want to be
told) how much pleasure and satisfaction I felt from the un
expected intelligence which you have so kindly communicated
to me. So valuable an accession of property,' independent of its
present convenience, secures permanent advantage to those
most dear to you, which must afford you the highest possible
gratification, and your friends will partake warmly in all your
feelings on so interesting an event. I own I cannot help
feeling a sort of respect for the memory of the person who has
had th© merit of judging so well on a slight personal acquaint
ance how h© could make the best use of what he had to bestow.
You will probably hear from Rose, to whom I communicated
the circumstance, and whose expressions of joy I believe to be
perfectly sincere. Smith is out of town. I am likely still to
^ The Bishop was already a man of means. He and his family had
been in possession of property at Bacton in Suffolk for many centuries,
and he had also acquired a considerable fortune with his wife. He now
assumed the name of Tomline, by which for convenience he has been in
advance referred to in these pages.

844 PITT
be detained in town a week or ten days longer by the discus
sions on finance and military defence, neither of which I think
it right or creditable to fail attending. It is a little uncertain
whether Farquhar will not afterwards advise me to go for a few
weeks either to Bath or Tunbridge, which is as much time as I
can spare from Walmer, where I very much wish to be at
present, not merely for the sake of my farm, but for the duties
which at such a moment as this belong to my official situation
there. My coming to the commencement will, therefore, be out
of the question. But I hope to find time for an excursion before
summer ends. If you remain at Buckden I should not be
without hopes of coming to you there and asking you to show
me your new possessions at Riby ; or if you have any thought of
going to Lymington, I should like extremely to make a
progress along the coast to meet you. I came to town a good
deal unwell, and not very equal to the fatigue of anxious dis
cussions in the House and (quite as much) out of it ; but I
have been gaining ground for the last three weeks, and am now
very well able to encounter what little labour remains for the
rest of the session. Lord Pelham is certainly the person to
apply to respecting your change of name, unless the wiU
specially requires an Act of Parliament for the purpose.
Ever affectionately yours,
W. P.
Downing Street: Deo. 17, 1804.
My dear Bishop, — Many thanks for your note. Lord Yar
borough's answer is no great disappointment, as I had begun
to doubt whether the inconveniences of being so very near town
would not overbalance the advantages. It was only yesterday
I leamt from Lord Castlereagh that attendance is much wanted
at the India House on Thursday, and that your three votes
would be important. I have not yet heard anything from the
King in answer to my letter.
Everything promises well respecting the political arrange
ment with the person about whom we had so much conversa
tion, and on much more reasonable terms than you expected.
Ever yours,
W. P.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 345
The Bishop was greatly attached to his wife, who
was a clever woman. Their correspondence, preserved
at Orwell Park, is full of the deepest interest. The
Bishop wrote to her freely on aU subjects, and the
foUowing letter shows Pitt in quite a novel aspect — as
the critic of a sermon, written for an occasion in which
he was much interested, discussing it with its author
most freely and brightly :
(? 1797) Downing Street : Saturday Moming, J before 7.
My dearest Love, — I came hither last night between nine
and ten, and was told that Mr. Pitt was at the Speaker's. I
sat by myself in Mr. Pitt's room till the clock struck twelve,
having eaten a good supper in the meantime ; I then rang the
bell and ordered my bed to be warmed, and just as I was
going out of the room Mr. Pitt's carriage stopped at the door,
and of cours© I remained where I was. After 20 minutes'
conversation I told him that I had brought my sermon in my
pocket ; he said that h© did not wish to keep me out of bed, but
h© was anxious to form some idea of it, that he would run over
it in the hasty way he likes before he reads a thing in earnest.
I assured him that I had no objection to sit by him. ' Very
well, but I shall not tell you whether I think it good, bad, or
indifferent ; but w© will have some other opportunity to discuss
the point.' Before h© b©gan I told him the plan of the sermon,
and in particular that I had taken a higher tone in spirits than
perhaps I actually f©lt, and that I had avoided party politics,
and I thought he seemed to fear that it was not sufficiently
directed to the time and occasion which arose from my state
ment. He began his first observation upon ' He stilleth the
raging of the sea and the madness ofthe people.' ' I remember,'
he said, ' that there is another mention of that sentence in th©
Psalms, which is very fine and ought to be inserted.' I recol
lected that it was ' and the noise of the waves,' to which he
assented. (Am I right ? Look, and let me know what you
think.) He th©n read on till he came to the same principles of
W. J. and M. which gained the Jews, ever did, &c. &c. He

346 PITT
said that in these times, when the history of the Jews was
thought so contemptuously and ludicrously of, that seiitence
ought to be qualified more, or more gradually expressed ; but
upon a little conversation, and upon my saying that upon such
an occasion I must suppose that people would at least think
seriously upon anything in the Bible, he gave up the point. He
then read on till he came to the mutiny ; of course I here told
him that I had my doubts upon that passage. He was clear
that the sentences about the army and mutiny must both be
omitted, but that something should be said of the army in
one short sentence, such as that our mUitary exertions had
been attended with great success, or that our army had dis
tinguished themselves — he meant as fighters, not as to loyalty.'
He then read on to the end without a word. On having
finished, he expressed himself excessively (that was his word)
pleased both with the plan of the sermon and the execution
— some parts were beautiful and excellent — but he laughed
when I again said, ' You see, I have written in good spirits
for the country.' ' Oh, I expected much more after what you
said.' I am confident he was satisfied upon that head. He
then mentioned the passage about St. Paul as admirable, and
told me fairly when I began that part. Says he, ' I thought
there was something very dull coming which would spoU what
went before and was well put and animated, but I was exceed
ingly struck when I read on and saw how you applied it.' He
evidently considered that as the best part of the sermon — it is
in his own way of thinking. ' What do you think of the text ? '
' Oh, very well, but I do not know whether some passage out
of that story of St. Paul would not do better, and be more
striking ; for though your text does very well, there is nothing
particularly appropriate to the sermon in it.' ' Perhaps it
might — what do you think of " Except these abide in the
ship, ye cannot be saved " ? ' ' Oh, exceUent ; it would so
strike people of all sorts, and particularly when they com© to
see how you apply it. Then your sermon would be to prov©
that God, who governs the world by His providence, never
' The sermon was composed for some Thanksgiving Day, not easy to
identify.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 347
interposes for the preservation of men or nations without their
own exertions.' . . . After a little pause he said : ' I really
think that with that text it will be the best sermon ever preached.'
I expressed myself strongly for this new text, and so we parted.
He was in prodigious spirits after he had read the sermon, and
I n©©d not tell you that I went to bed with a joyful heart.
Upon reflection, I continue to think that the new text would
have a good ©ff©ct ; I see but one objection. People, from the
text, might expect that I was going to prove that our Navy must
-be our preservation, whereas I turn it very differently ; but, upon
the whole, I do not think this a valid objection.' ... I expect
to hear from you upon this subject on Monday.
I had some little conversation about the Assessed Tax BUl.
Mr. Pitt seemed to think that he could modify it so as to
remove a great part of the bad impression against it. He
thought that Pox's speech was very violent and Jacobinical,
and had done him (Mr. Pitt) good.
On my way hither I called on th© Admiralty, but could not
s©© Lord Spencer. I saw my Lady, who was abundantly civil.
Sir Joseph Barker, Mr. ( ? ), and another gentleman
were there. I rather think the colours will be presented imme
diately before the ' Te Deum ' or before the Communion Service.
Mr. Pitt seems to favour the latter time. Lady Spencer is to go
by water, and then come to the Deanery by the narrow streets.
The King is to sot out precisely at ten. Th© Archbishop call©d
at the Deanery yesterday, but I was forced to make him wait at
least an hour before I could see him. Everything right. I
left my sermon with Mr. Pitt ; he meant to read it again, and
seemed anxious to see me about it ; he was particularly desirous
of my calling to-day, and said he would ride with me, if possible,
to Fulham ; he stays in town. But I mean to be at Fulham till
Monday morning. I forgot to say that he thought I r©turn©d
to proph©cy unnecessarily after I left it. I do not remember
that. He also said there wer© some words and, perhaps, on©
part which were too n©ar inv©ctives for a sermon. . . . Upon
' The Bishop, I beUeve, wrote some theological works ; and several of
his sermons in his own writing are stiU in existence at OrweU Park.

348 PITT
these subjects we are to talk. He meant to read the sermon
while he dressed this morning. I begged him not to leave it
about. ' No, no. Depend upon it, nobody shall preach it but
you or myself.' Yours ever,
G. L. (Lincoln.)
Mrs. Pretyman's criticism ^ on the foregoing is worth
reading : (? 1797)
My dearest Husband, — . . . I have been more anxious for
to-day's post than I can express, not that I feared Mr. Pitt's
general opinion of it, but I thought he might find something to
alter which would give you trouble and doubt and lessen your
comfort in preaching it. I am made happy beyond expression
by his having so soon given you such strong marks of his per
fect approbation as to set your mind and nerves perfectly at
ease, as I flatter myself they now are, and will be at the time of
preaching. I enclose the two translations of the verse Mr. Pitt
recollected, but I doubt whether ' and the noise of his waves '
should be inserted ; it adds an ' and' which so placed has often a
bad effect, and it seems to burden the sentence (of your sermon,
I mean), and not to agree with those preceding and following, to
which it is applied. On the other hand, the third number in
the text prevents the sentences from running in couplets. You
will decide ; I only state the pro and con, and really think it of
little importance — perhaps you had better take it, as being sug
gested by Mr. Pitt. His suggestions have, as they ought, very,
very great weight with me ; but I cannot implicitly bend my
mind (though I should my vote) to his judgment ; I should have
been greatly shocked if you had listened a moment to the objec
tion respecting the history of the Jews. Is a Christian Bishop
to acaormnodate his sermon to the sceptical or infidel spirit of
the times ? — -upon a point, too, so important to the interests of
religion as the authority of the Jewish history ? I fear some
' Pretyman MSS. The long correspondence between the Bishop and
his wife is fuU of interest and information ; and refers very often to the
topics of the day.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 349
impression has been made on the mind of your friend by a cer
tain person — but no more upon the subject now. The omission
of the mutiny I quite approv©, but how to introduce the Army
in the way Mr. P. means I do not know, further than that the
sentence must begin ' Our Army,' to agree with the rest of the
substantives, I will try it before the post goes out — but what
has the Army done upon the Continent? People in general
judge of valour by success, and I should almost fear they would
draw a contrast between the Army and Navy, though I know
Mr. Pitt will not suppose this possible. I greatly rejoice that
the second reading produced more entire approbation ; but as
you consult your sincere adviser, I cannot help owning myself
exceedingly concerned that it confirmed his opinion about the
change of text. You cannot, I think, doubt about the King's
liking your first far better than your second text — that is surely
a certainty. It seems to me also certain that, considering the
King as the sole proposer of this solemn act of devotion, you
ought, as much as in you lies, to give him the honour of it in
such times as these, and that the first text is far more proper
for the day (as a Thanksgiving Day), whatever may be said of it
for the sermon ; but 1 wonder much that you both should like a
' ship ' in the text of a sermon about Naval victories — especially
when not applied to those victories — it looks like a pun or a
quibble upon the word. Everybody will, as you say, expect it
to be applied to our Navy, and the different turn you give it at
the last will be a surprise ; but is that sort of surprise proper for
a sermon ? The weight Mr. Pitt gives and is desirous of giving
to human exertion, and his having been so much struck with that
part of your sermon about the ship, makes him readily see a
connection in the sermon with that text. But I will venture to
say that not one of your congregation will or can see it till the
conclusion, and then it refers only to oiie of the points you estab
lish in support of your general assertion of the Providence of
God as the ground and cause of thanksgiving. Mr. Pitt said,
' Then your sermon would be to prove that God, who governs
the world by His providence, never interposes for the preserva
tion of men or nations without their own exertions.' This, as a
Christian, I am bold enough to assert against all the world is

350 PITT
not true. And God forbid you should ever be led inadvertently
to preach and publish such an assertion, which leads to conse
quences which I have not time to state, and are surely utterly
inconsistent with true religion ; with experience offered by every
man's heart, if they will but examine it ; and with all history.
For how often would the blind exertions of men conduct them
to evil unless stopped by God, and how often does He save
men and nations from ' evUs which they can neither foresee nor
prevent,' and which .they canmot therefore use any exertions to
avoid ! But I will say no more upon this subject, except to
beg you will remember that Mr. Pitt is a better politician than
a divine, a better judge of writing than of doctrine. I think
the Bishop of London will agree with me about the text.
Perhaps Mr. P. will give it up, if you state my objections
(not as mine, but as having occurred to yourself) as likely to
strike common minds. It would be folly to say I think this
matter unimportant, for I should not then have told you now
that I do not agree with Mr. Pitt. . . . Surely it is a most
extraordinary text for a day of thanksgiviny to Ood for past
blessings ! Preaching up exertion is not your avowed object —
you are to express your confidence and your gratitude towards
God as the ' overruling Sovereign of the world and (Siver of all
good.' I should not like the ' ship ' text for that sermon on
any common occasion {supposing you could preach it on any
other occasion), but I cannot bear it for a Thanksgiving Day.
Had your friend's mind been more impressed with due gratitude
to God, he would not have wished to take that text. ... I
shall be very anxious to know your determination upon this
point. . . . Mr. Pitt saw no objection to the other text. ... I
do not see any one thing in the sermon that I wish altered.
God bless you, my dearest husband. I shall write a short letter '
to-morrow. I am ever, most truly and tenderly yours
Eliza Pretyman.
1 Mrs. Pretyman wrote very constantly to the Bishop when they were
separated. His handwriting was rather iUegible, and probably she did
some writing and copying for him. He entertained the highest respect
as weU as the greatest affection for her. The Pitt family generaUy appear
to have been on most friendly terms with the Bishop and his wife. Lord
Chatham kept up a correspondence with the Bishop long after Pitt's death.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 361
Pitt thought extremely highly of the Bishop's gifts
and qualifications for the very highest Church prefer
ment. He appointed him Bishop of Lincoln, and also
Dean of St. Paul's. On the occasion of the vacancy
in the Archbishopric of Canterbury (on the death of
Dr. Moore), in January 1805, he was most anxious to
appoint Tomline, and there can be no doubt that he
put aU the pressure he could on the King to secure
his sanction. The following letter to the King,^ written before
the vacancy actuaUy occurred, shows how important
Pitt thought it was to make the earliest possible appli
cation on behalf of his friend :
Mr. Pitt took the liberty of stating to your Majesty, when he
had last th© honour of attending your Majesty at Windsor, his
anxious wish with a view to the expected vacancy of the Arch
bishopric to be allowed to recommend the Bishop of Lincoln as
the fittest person to succeed to that raost important station. As
there continues to be great reason to suppose that the vacancy
will speedily take place, he requests your Majesty's indulgence
shortly to state the grounds on which that wish is founded. In
doing so he hopes h© shall not b© misunderstood as wishing in
the slightest degree to disparage the qualifications of the Bishop
of Norwich, for whom he entertains a very high regard and a
sincere friendship ; and whom he considers to be highly worthy of
any mark of your Majesty's favour and approbation ; but he can
not, nevertheless, help feeling that the Bishop of Lincoln, having
been a longer time on the Bench, has also during the whole of
that period (now little less than twenty years) had charge of the
^ Pretyman MSS. This is plainly the letter ' the rough copy ' of
which is referred to in Stanhope's Life of Pitt, iv. 234. The letter is in
Pitt's handwriting, evidently the final draft copy of the letter sent to the
King. There are a few trivial alterations, and the word ' uninterrupted '
is substituted for ' intimate.' There is no date, but it is probably the end
of December 1804.

352 PITT
most extensive and laborious diocese in the kingdom — that he
has performed all his duties with a degree of diligence, zeal,
temper, and discretion of which there are few examples ; and, in
addition to the performance of this weighty task, has devoted
the remainder of his time to the constant and indefatigable
pursuit of all the studies connected with sacred knowledge, and
to the publication of tracts which are universally admitted to
have rendered the most essential service to th© interests of
religion. In submitting this statement to your Majesty, Mr.
Pitt is not conscious of having suffered any personal considera
tion to carry him further than will, he believes, be strictly
supported by the concurrent opinion of persons to whose judg
ment your Majesty would be most inclined to give weight on
an occasion of this nature. He hopes, however, that he may
without impropriety request your Majesty's permission to urge
as an additional motive for his anxiety the close and uninter
rupted friendship which has subsisted between the Bishop of
Lincoln and himself for above thirty years, and which has given
him a personal and intimate knowledge of those qualities which
justify him in the representation which he has presumed to lay
before your Majesty. He even flatters himself that, from the
favourable and generous sentiments your Majesty has been
pleased to manifest towards him, your Majesty would not be
unwilling, in selecting a person for this high trust, to afford Mr.
Pitt that mark of your Majesty's favour and confidence which
has, he believes, been frequently extended to those in the situa
tion in which your Majesty has placed him, and which, while it
must be peculiarly gratifying to his feelings, may possibly not be
unimportant to your Majesty's service at the present moment.
He will only presume to add that, should your Majesty be pleased
to accede to his eamest request, the Deanery of St. Paul's (which
he understands to be now worth between three and four thousand
pounds per annum) would, if your Majesty approves of it, furnish
the means of placing the Bishop of Norwich in a very advan
tageous situation.
George III. was desirous of appointing the Bishop
of Norwich, who was also Dean of Windsor (Manners

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 363
Sutton), and Pitt felt plainly aggrieved that his advice
appeared to be slighted and his recommendation put
aside, for his next letter ^ shows traces of annoyance :
Downing Street, Jan. 22, 1805.
It is with great reluctance that Mr. Pitt at any time reverts
to any proposal which does not appear to meet your Majesty's
wishes, but he considers it on every account his duty not to dis
guise from your Majosty how doeply his feelings are wounded
and his hopes of contributing to your Majesty's service impaired
by your Majesty's apparent disregard of his recommendation ofthe
Bishop of Lincoln to succeed to the Archbishopric of Canterbury.
He entreats your Majesty humbly to reflect that such a recommen
dation appears uniformly to have been graciously accepted /or a
long cowrse of time in every instance but that of th© nomination
of th© last Archbishop, which cannot itself be considered as an
exception to the practice, because it took place in the interval
between the resignation of one Administration and the appoint
ment of another. Mr. Pitt has already had the honour of fully
submitting to your Majesty the grounds on which he rests the
Bishop of Lincoln's qualifications for this important situation.
It is impossible for him not to feel that they are such as to afford
no just ground for giving a preference to the Bishop of Norwich ;
and under the circumstances he must entreat your Majesty's
permission to state that your Majesty's refusal to comply with
his request can hardly be understood by himself, and will cer
tainly not be understood by the public in any other light than
as a decisive mark of your Majesty's not honouring him with
that degree of confidence which his predecessors have enjoyed,
and without which your Majesty must be sensible how impossible
it is, ©specially at such a moment as the present, that he can
conduct your Majesty's affairs with advantage. Mr. Pitt still
flatters himself that when your Majesty is fully aware of these
considerations, it cannot be your Majesty's intention to reduce
him to so mortifying a condition. The sense of what he
' Pretyman MSS, This appears to be the final revised draft, aU in
Pitt's writing, and showing several alterations and insertions of words
and sentences. A A

354 PITT
feels due to your Majesty's service and to himself has made him
anxious to submit this representation previous to his having
the honour of attending your Majesty at the Queen's House to
morrow. Pitt received in reply the following ^ pohte but not
very encouraging letter :
[Private] Windsor Castle, Jan. 23, 1805.
The King is ever hurt when he cannot bring himself to
concur with Mr. Pitt in any matter which Mr. Pitt seems to
have at heart ; this he feels strongly on the present occasion,
and has therefore continued silent on the vacancy of the Arch
bishopric of Canterbury; indeed, it is but this morning that
Lord Auckland is to deliver up the seal of the late possessor,
therefore it would scarcely have been proper to have taken any
step towards filling up the vacancy sooner. Th© King wiU cer
tainly this day at the Queen's House hear whatever Mr. Pitt
chooses to say on the subject ; but His Majesty by no means
can view the Archbishopric in the light of a common Bishopric.
It is the person on the bench on whom he must most depend,
and of whose dignity of behaviour, good temper, as well as talents
and learning he feels best satisfied : the Archbishop as weU as
the King are for life. George R.
George III. held his ground and carried his point,^
and, although Pitt was bitterly disappointed, he did not
seek to make any estrangement on the subject. The
Bishop took the matter quite calmly, and it appears
' Pretyman MSS. This letter appears to have been sent on at once
to the Bishop, for it is in an envelope addressed : ' Private. To the Bishop
of Lincoln. W. Pitt.'
' Lord Stanhope (iv. 252) : ' Its seems probable, I think, that the
decisive struggle took place by word of mouth. Lord Sidmouth once said
to Dean Milman that such strong language had hardly ever passed
between a Sovereign and his Minister.'

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 355
from one of her letters that his wife had no desire for
the change.
The Bishop never left Pitt during his last illness,
and was present during all the sad closing scenes.
Amongst his papers ^ is carefully preserved his ' Memo
randum on last hours of Pitt ' :
' The Bishop, having been told by Sir "W. Farquhar
that he thought Mr. Pitt's state precarious, went to his
bedside and said " he found it to be his duty to inform
him that his situation was considered as precarious, and
desired his leave to read prayers with him, and to ad
minister the Sacrament." Mr. Pitt looked earnestly at
the Bishop for a few moments, and then with the most
perfect composure turned his head to Sir W. Farquhar,
who stood on the other side of the bed, and said slowly,
" How long do you think I have to live ? " Sir Walter
Farquhar answered he could not say, adding something
of hope that he might stUl recover. A sort of half-
smile on Mr. Pitt's countenance indicated that he
considered this hope as merely a physician's language,
and calmly turning his head again toward the Bishop,
he said in reply to the request he had made to pray
with him, " I fear I have, like too many other men,
neglected prayer too much to have any ground for hope
that it can be efficacious on a death-bed, but " (rising as
he spoke, and clasping his hands with the utmost
fervour and devotion) " I throw myself entirely " (with
strong emphasis) " upon the mercy of God through the
merits of Christ."
' Pretyman MSS. The Bishop commimicated the substance of this
memorandum to Gifford, who referred to it in his Life of Pitt. A A 2

356 PITT
' The Bishop assured him the frame of his mind at
this awful moment was exactly such as might be
expected to render prayer acceptable and useful ; from
which, after some conversation, Mr. Pitt assented to hear
prayers read to him, and joined in them with calm and
humble piety. Mr. Pitt repeatedly expressed in the
strongest manner his sense of his own unworthiness to
appear in the presence of God, disclaiming all ideas of
merit, but without appearing to have any weight upon
his conscience. He appealed to the Bishop's knowledge
of the steadiness ^ of his reUgious principles, and said it
had ever been his wish to act rightly and to fulfil his
duty to God in the world ; but that he was very sensible
of many errors and failures. He declared himself
perfectly resigned to the will of God, that he felt no
enmity towards anyone, but died in peace with aU
mankind, and expressed his hope, at once humble and
confident, of eternal happiness, through the intercession
of his Eedeemer. While the Bishop was kneeling at
Mr. Pitt's bedside, unable entirely to restrain his feeUngs,
after having read prayers, Mr. Pitt took hold of his
hand and in his own most afiectionate manner said : " I
cannot sufficiently thank you for aU your kindness to me
throughout life." What a trait of character was this !
What an unspeakable comfort to his friend in the
agonising hour of separation ! Mr. Pitt mentioned no
other person ' (added by the Bishop in different ink, and
apparently at a later date), ' nor did he send any message
to anyone.'
^ Bose, recording a conversation with the Bishop a few weeks after the
death, says that Pitt referred to ' the innocency of his Ufe ' (Eose's Diary),

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 367
There is also another paper in the Bishop's writing
endorsed ' Mr. Pitt's last days at Putney ' :
' When the Bishop of Lincoln asked Mr. Pitt whom
he wished to settle his affairs and papers, he replied
"My brother" (in a tone as if thatwas a matter of course),
but added immediately, " but not my brother only — I
wish you to be joined with him." About nine o'clock
Mr. Pitt said, " I wish a thousand or fifteen hundred a
year to be given to my niece, if the pubhc should think
my long services deserving of it, but I do not presume
to think I have earned it." He then spoke of the
Stanhopes (Lady Hester and Mr. Stanhope were in his
house), remarking that they would be " left destitute ; "
but, correcting himself, he added, " I ought not to say
destitute, as their father is living."
' Upon the Bishop desiring Mr. Pitt to give what
directions he thought fit respecting his papers or any
other subject, Mr. Pitt caUed for pen and ink, but was
unable to write legibly. Mr. Pitt then dictated, and the
Bishop wrote from his lips. Mr. Pitt afterwards read
what was written, and signed the several papers in the
presence of Sir Walter Farquhar and several servants
who were also present a part of the time, while
Mr. Pitt was engaged in religious duties, and heard
this greatest and best of men in talents and in heart
profess the faith and hope and charity of an humbly
pious Christian. Mr. Pitt was exceedingly fatigued by
these exertions, and when the Bishop again proposed
to administer the Sacrament, he desired to rest a little.
The Bishop did not press it further that moment, as
the opinion of Sir W. Farquhar that Mr. Pitt would

358 PITT
probably continue in the same state much longer than
he actuaUy did, and especially the perfect state of his
faculties and composed yet animated manner during
the whole of this ^ost memorable scene induced him
to expect an opportunity would remain perhaps better
suited to the performance of that duty. But Mr. Pitt
very soon grew much worse ; about two o'clock he
seemed to suffer for some time and struggled for breath,
but with the most perfect patience. He then feU into
a sort of stupor, but was occasionaUy sensible ahnost to
the last. About a quarter-past four on Thursday
morning, January 23, 1806, his soul departed in a
gentle sigh.'
Pitt died on the anniversary of the day on which
twenty-five years before he had first entered the House
of Commons. Lady Hester Stanhope, writing ^ three days after,
says : ' You have no idea of the consolation it is to me
that I received the last blessing of that beloved angel ;
and that when forbid to see him (because it was thought
he would not know me) I took my own way and
disobeyed unnatural commands. My voice recaUed his
scattered senses, and he was perfectly collected the
whole time I was with him ; and whe'h I departed, and
though his ideas again became confused, he continued
to name me with affection. This proved pre-eminence
over the rest of the world wiU compensate me for many
future sorrows which his loss must entaU upon us.'
Pitt must have entertained much respect for religion,
' Letter to Mr. Adams, January 26, 1806 (Duchess of Cleveland's Ldfe
and Letters of Lad/y Hester Stanhope).

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 369
even if he was not a reUgious man. This was plainly
the view of his most briUiant disciple, for Canning in
his sketch ^ of Pitt, written immediately after his death,
says : ' Absorbed as he was in the pursuits of pubhc
Ufe, he did not neglect to prepare himself in silence for
that higher destination which is at once the incentive
and reward of human virtue. His talents and superior
ity, splendid as they were, never made him forgetful of
that eternal wisdom from which they emanated. The
faith and fortitude of his last moments were exemplary.'
Wilberforce ^ wrote sadly : ' I have a thousand times
(ay, times without number) wished and hoped that a
final interval would be afforded him, perhaps in the
evening of life, in which he and I might confer freely on
the most important of aU subjects. But the scene is
closed — for ever.' He adds patheticaUy : ' Poor Pitt, I
ahnost believe, died of — a broken heart ! For it is only
due to him to declare that the love of his country^
' Ca/nnvng a/nd His Times, p. 81.
' Wilberforce, Life, iu. 245-51. Pitt's letter to WUberforce on the
conversion and change of life of the latter is most interesting and fuU
of feeUng (Private Papers of Wilberforce, 1897). Lord Wellesley, in his
letter on Pitt of November 22, 1836, says : ' In truth he was not merely a
faithful and dutiful, but a learned member of our EstabUshed Church.'
' Pitt's last words were : ' Oh, my coimtry. How I leave my country 1 '
(Stanhope's Life of Pitt, iv. 378). These are the words recorded by the
Hon. J. H. Stanhope, who was present. Eose, however, in the debate in
the House of Commons on the motion for funeral honours to Pitt, names
fewer words : ' It was weU known to those who were in the room when
that great man expired that the last words he uttered were, " Oh, my
country 1 " ' Eose spoke on January 27, the fourth day after Pitt's death.
The Bishop, it may be noted, does not refer to the words. (See Cobbett's
ParUamentary Debates, vi. 59.) Pitt's last speech in pubUo was at the
Lord Mayor's annual banquet in November 1805. It is very short, very
complete, and very dignified. His health was proposed as ' the saviour
of Europe,' and his reply was contained in these simple words : ' I

360 PITT
burned in him with as ardent a flame as ever warmed
the human bosom, and the accounts from the armies
struck a death-blow within.'
WUberforce was Pitt's closest, warmest, and most
respected friend — no blind foUower ; a man who thought
for himself; who voted against Pitt on a great personal
occasion, as his own sense of pubhc duty led him — and
his estimate of Pitt may be taken as that of a very
honest and very capable judge : ' For personal purity,
disinterestedness, integrity, and love of his country I
have never known his equal.'
No bitterness existed in Pitt's nature, and, notwith
standing the trials and experiences of hfe, he always
inclined to take a kindly view where he could of the
motives of men. Lord Eldon records : ^ ' Not long
before his death I asked Mr. Pitt whether his intercourse
with men upon the whole led him to think that the
greater part of them were governed by reasonably
honourable principles or by corrupt motives. His
answer was that he had a favourable opinion of man
kind upon the whole, and that he beUeved the majority
was ^eaUy actuated by fair meaning and intention.'
On Pitt's death it was at once felt that Parhament
should give effect to the national feehng and commemo
rate the name of the great Minister, and that it would
be fitting to adopt the very words used by a former
Parliament on the occasion of the death of his iUustrious
father. Accordingly on August 27, 1806, Mr. Henry
return you many thanks for the honour you have done me. But Europe
is not to be saved by any single man. England has saved herself by
her exertions, and wiU, as I trust, save Europe by her example.'
' Anecdote Book, i. 499 ; Twiss's Life.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 361
LasceUes ^ moved, and the Marquis of Titchfield seconded,
that ' An humble address be presented to His Majesty,
that His Majesty will be graciously pleased to give
directions that the remains of the Eight Honourable
William Pitt be interred at the public charge, and that
a monument be erected in the Collegiate Church of
St. Peter, Westminster, to the memory of that exceUent
statesman with an inscription expressive of the public
sense of so great and irreparable a loss ; and to assure
His Majesty that this House wiU make good the
expenses attending the same.' The motion was sup
ported, as appears from the ' Parliamentary Debates,' by
Lord Lovaine, Mr. J. H. Browne, Mr. Hiley Addington,
Sir E. Buxton, General Tarleton, Earl Temple, Mr. E.
Eyder, Mr. Eose, Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Wilberforce,
and Sir Eobert WiUiams ; and opposed by Lord Folke
stone, Mr. W. Smith, the Marquis of Douglas, Mr.
Windham, Mr. George Ponsonby, and Mr. Fox. The
debate was not unworthy of the occasion. The mover
and seconder spoke shortly, moderately, and with
dignity, and those who concurred in the motion did not
indulge in any extravagant language. Windham, who
had been for years a coUeague of Pitt and sat with him
in the same Cabinet, might weU have abstained from the
discussion, if unable to support the proposition ; but
nothing could have been more lofty, dignified, and
worthy than the language of Fox, when he gave
his reasons, full of respect and regret, explaining that
his public duty caUed upon him ' in the most imperious
and irresistible manner ' to oppose the motion, and that.
' Cobbett's Parliamentary Debates, vi. 42.

362 PITT
however painful to his feelings in every respect, he
must do his duty. The portion of the motion to which
Fox and his friends took special exception was that
which referred to Pitt as an ' exceUent statesman.' ^
His task was difficult, but he succeeded in making his
position perfectly clear, in simple and manly words.
He said : ' I do not know, sir, that ever I rose to
address the House in the performance of my public
duty with more pain than I do at this moment. . . .
For many of the supporters of the present motion I
have a personal friendship, which would make me
reluctant to oppose thein on such an occasion ; but
most of aU would it be my interest, as weU as my
incUnation, not to cross in this instance the views of
• the noble Lord near me (Lord Temple) and other near
relations of the deceased Minister, with whom I am now
likely to be for the remainder of my life inseparably
connected. The vote, therefore, may be considered as
one not given to gratify any feehng of private animosity,
but extorted by a most painful but imperious duty. . . .
I, sir, have been engaged in a long course of opposition
to the person for whom pubhc honours are now claimed ;
I may say that I have been considered, and perhaps it
' Fox and Sheridan were ready to agree to a form of words. Instead
of styling him ' an exceUent statesman ' and his loss as ' irreparable,' they
were prepared to concur in words expressive of his ' transcendent talents and
virtues and the disinterested integrity displayed throughout a long course
of arduous services.' But the proposal fell to the ground, as Windham
refused to agree (Lord Colchester's Diary, U. 31). In the recent case of
Mr. Gladstone both Houses of ParUament, nemine eontraddcente, voted a
public funeral and a monument in Westminster Abbey ' with an inscription
expressive of the public admiration and attachment, and of the high
sense entertained of his rare and splendid gifts, his devoted labours in
ParUament and in great ofiices of State.' Windham's refusal to agree was
most ungracious, and it is not easy to understand his action.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 363
may be called an honour, as his rival. But I do assure
the right honourable gentleman and his most zealous
admirers that during aU that time I never opposed him
from a personal motive in my life. . . . Great qualities
he certainly had in no ordinary degree, in private Ufe,
and great qualities also in points connected with his
administration. . . , No Minister was ever more dis
interested, as far as relates to pecuniary matters. . . .
I therefore, sir, have every reason from my intimate
friendship and near connection with the living, and
from iny own private feeUngs and respect for the dead,
who undoubtedly possessed many estimable quaUties, to
give my support to the motion now before the House. I
might be lead to this by another motive. If personal
vanity had any weight with me, I might from this
consideration concur with the honourable gentleman.
I might by this means gain a great deal of applause,
without any loss whatever in a party point of view ; and
I do not pretend to be insensible to praise, any more
than others. But there are cases, sir, in which our
public duty is so clear and imperious that no desire of
praise, no motive of personal respect, no wish to gratify
our friends, nor any other consideration, however
powerful, can possibly enable us to dispense with it,
and in my conscience, sir, I beheve this to be one of
those cases. If the marks of respect were such as did
not compromise my public duty in the compliance, no
person would join in it more cheerfuUy and more
eagerly than I would.' Lord Castlereagh, who spoke
after Fox, acknowledged that those who had opposed the
motion ' had throughout performed what they believed

364 PITT
to be their duty, in a manner that redounded highly to
their credit.' The motion was carried by 258 to 89.
A few days later a motion to advance 40,000Z. for the
payment of Pitt's debts was. voted by the House of
Commons, nemine contr adicente. Fox warmly declaring
that he had never given a vote with more satisfaction
in his life.
Pitt was buried in Westminster Abbey, ' the Temple
of Silence and Eeconciliaton,' and the inscription on his
monument ^ is simple and sufficient :
THIS MONUMENT
IS BEECTBD BY PAELIAMENT TO
WILLAM PITT,
SON OP WILIiIAM, BABL OP CHATHAM,
IN TESTIMONY OP GBATITUDE
FOB THB EMINENT PUBLIC SEEVICBS
AND OP EEGBET FOE THE IBEEPABABLE LOSS
OP THAT GEEAT AND DISINTBEESTED MINISTBB.
HB DIED ON JANUAEY 23, 1806, IN THE 47tH YEAE OP HIS AGE.
In order to form a sound estimate of Pitt's career,
it must be taken as a whole and judged in its entirety.
It is practicaUy impossible to make quite separate
divisions of his public life, although it broadly par
titions itself into three periods : — First, from the time he
first took office until 1792-93 ; second, from the last-
mentioned date until after the Union ; and third, from
thence until the end.
He had the genius of command, and was one of the
' Pitt was buried in his father's grave. His monument is situated a
long way oflf, over the west door — a most unfortunate position, where it
impresses nobody, and where the inscription can be read with difttculty.

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 365
greatest Parliamentary leaders England has ever seen ;
but it may be questioned if his pubhc efficiency would
not have been enhanced, had he possessed some of that
' subordinate ' experience he so haughtily repudiated,
and had his long public life been more tempered by
some of the teachings of Opposition. He came to regard
rule and office almost as his right. He retired with
reluctance in 1801, and he was anxious for restoration
in 1804 — ^but from no smaU or unworthy motives,
honestly believing the country had need of him. He
enjoyed many great advantages, and had to face many
great difficulties — very unequally divided through his
career. His difficulties were greatest when his advan
tages were least.
Ahnost aU writers have combined to praise his con
duct during the first period. He was a great peace
Minister — anxious for reform, for purity of administra
tion, for economy, and the fostering of commerce.
The second period is that marked by the develop
ment of the French Eevolution and the Irish Union. Pitt
remained at peace as long as he could, but he naturaUj;-
was profoundly impressed by the progress of the French
Eevolution, and by the strong feeling prevailing around
him of real panic at its development, of immense dread
lest its teachings and its 'mighty and furious ' spirit
should spread and subvert the old order of things
throughout Europe. Pitt must be judged, not by the
tranquU philosophy of a century after the events, but
by the Ught of ' the living present ' in which he lived,
by the reasoning and forebodings which induced Burke,
Spencer, Wiiidham, and Portland to separate from Fox,

366 PITT
leaving him almost alone with Grey and Sheridan.
Pitt's task was vast — to protect the Empire and to
check the ascendency of Napoleon and ' the French
system of aggrandisement and aggression,' which ap
peared to threaten the independence of every country
in Europe. He was not unequal to the occasion.'' He
met it as best he could by efforts at home — keeping up
the Navy, strengthening the Army — by combinations
and subsidies abroad, by never quailing before disaster,
and by steadily sustaining the courage of the nation
by his own dauntless words and his own indomitable
spirit. With these vast cares he had also to consider
domestic affairs, and his great scheme of policy in
reference to Ireland was one worthy of a great states
man.^ The third period is that on which history wiU have
most difficulty in framing its impartial judgment. There
was one great shortcoming and one great misfortune.
Pitt's conduct after the Union in reference to the Irish
Catholic claims and Tithe Eelief was not marked by
that resolution and intrepidity that his own previous
action and language required. Being forced to under
take the administration in 1804 with such a lame and
weak Cabinet was a serious misfortune. The needs of
^ Mahan, in his Influence of Sea Power upon the French BevohiUon
and Empire, has vigorously asserted the success of Pitt's war poUcy as
that of ' the master spirit who directed the movements of the British
nation.' He points out ( ii. 394) : ' It is a singular fact that neither the
extraordinary commercial prosperity secured by his successes, nor the
immense development of the Navy during Pitt's Administration, is men
tioned in the celebrated denunciation of his " driveUing " war poUcy by
Macaulay.' ° ' Pitt was the first EngUsh Minister who formed great designs for
the benefit of Ireland ' (Macaulay).

BISHOP TOMLINE AND PITT— LAST DAYS 367
the country should have induced ' that proud man ' —
GrenviUe — and his other friends to follow Fox's mag
nanimous advice and join the new Government, regard
less of his ostracism. But when Pitt yielded to the
King's objection to Fox, and found that Fox's friends
would not condone his exclusion, he was forced by
events to abandon that scheme of a broad Adminis
tration, combining the greatest obtainable power, which
he honestly thought would be best for the interests of
the country. His second Administration was so Uttle
stronger than Addington's that he actuaUy had soon
to make it less feeble by the addition of Addington
himself. Pitt's excuses are to be sought for in the King's
condition, the state of his own health, and the
action of his coUeagues. George HI. had a mental
attack in 1801 and another, more prolonged and
serious, in the spring of 1804 — two most critical
occasions. Even when convalescent, the King's ob
stinacy of disposition complicated matters. Pitt had
to deal with a Sovereign entitled to special considera
tion owing to his health, and who, whilst claiming and
getting that consideration, put forth aU his resistance
to what he objected. Pitt's own health also at this
period required close and anxious care. Although he
retained all his courage and aU his marvellous powers
of speech and administration, his general health was
getting steadily undermined, and he probably often
found it difficult to bring to bear on the great emer
gencies with which he had to deal the same resource
and determination which had marked earher times.

368 PITT
It must, in considering his difficulties, always be re
membered that on the CathoUc Question his Cabinet
was divided, and that the weakness of his second
Administration was largely due to the desertion of
GrenviUe. The Ufe of this great statesman must be judged
after taking into account, not only his actions and his
motives, but also the times in which he lived, with aU
their difficulties and all their emergencies. In its
review his * personal purity, disinterestedness, integrity,
and love of country'^ stand out conspicuous. His
aims, his gifts, and his powers were great, and WiUiam
Pitt must for ever be regarded as a very noble figure
in the pubhc life of England.
' WUberforce. Pitt himself said that the quaUty most required by a
Prime Minister was ' patience.'

APPENDIX

Abridgment from the Catalogue in the possession of the Hon. Mrs.
Fdwa/rd Stanhope of all known Portraits, Busts, Fngravings
from Portraits, &c., of WilUam Pitt, by George Scharf,
C.B., F.8. A., Director of the National Portrait Gallery, 1886.

N,B, — The imtials 'E, S,' indicate that the engraving is in the Collection
made by the Bight Hon, Ed/ward Stanhope, M.P.

1779. Aged 20.
1. Original Drawing by J. S. Copley, B.A,
At Chevening. To the waist, wearing the gown of a gentleman
commoner over an ordinary coat with dark buttons, a white heck-
cloth and full frill to shirt-front. His white powdered hair hangs
long behind.
A study for the foUowing picture.
[Engraved in 1789 by Bartolozzi, and in 1861 by William
HolL] 1780. Aged 21.
2. Original Picture of the Death of Chatham by Copley.
In the National Gallery, to which it was presented by Lord
Liverpool in 1828 : a well-known composition. The figure of
William, standing behind his two brothers with both hands raised,
is very conspicuous.
[The picture was engraved on a large scale in line by Bartolozzi
in 1792, and small by F. Walker, for Jones's ' National Gallery.'
A smaller reproduction of Bartolozzi's engraving was by Delatre
in 1820.] B B

370 PITT

1781. Aged 21-22.

3. Engraving of the Death of Chatham in line by
J. K. Sherwin. (Probable date.)
4. Engraving by Walker (September 1781, Svo.). (E. S.)
' Hon. Wm. Pitt, Esqr.'
The face seen in three-quarters to the left, the eyes looking at
the spectator ; wearing a white cravat and shirt-frill ; a black tie
to his hair is partly visible. 1782. Aged 23.
5. Engraming from the ' London Magazine ' for December 1782
(Svo. size). (E. S.)
' Et. Hon. Wm. Pitt, Esqre., Chancellor of the Exchequer.'
In a round frame, wearing a plain coat and white tie.
6. Vignette head drawn by J. Sayer. (Probable date.) (E. S.)
A smaU profile, turned to the right, with long uncurled hair.
In the possession of T. Turner, Esq. Lithographed by E. J.
Lane. [In this year appeared also the earhest known caricature of
Mr. Pitt, executed by the Marquess Townshend.]
1783. Aged 24.
7. Original Portrait by O. Bomney.
At Bayham Abbey. A bust only ; wearing a plain blue coat
and yellow buttons ; no turn-over collar, and no indication of the
Chancellor's robe.
In Eomney's Life by his son, p. 194, we learn that in this
year he painted Lord Chatham and Mr. Pitt. The former is now
at Chevening ; the latter remained for many years in his studio
vsdth the head alone finished. Mr. Eomney received 50Z. for it
from Mr. Pitt's tutor, the Eev. E. Wilson.
[A mezzotint from this head, vrith the figure extended to half-
length, was executed by J. Jones, 1789.]

APPENDIX 371
8. Engraving in an oval, with no border (in colours),
Svo. size. (E. S.)
Engraved in stipple and printed in various colours. Wearing
a blue buttoned coat. The nose is aquihne. The hair is powdered
and curled over the ear, with a black tie behind.
' Published by B. Hodges, No. 2 CornhiU, July 1783.'
9. Medallion by Hancock,
'WUham Pitt appointed First Lord of the Treasury and
ChanceUor of the Exchequer, December 1783.'
1784. Aged 25.
10. Engraving in the ' European Magazine ' for January 1784.
(E. S.)
1785. Aged 26.
11. Large Etching by J. Sayer. (E. S.)
' Cicero in CatiUnam. Published 17 March, 1785, by Thos.
Cornell, Bruton Street.' Signed to the left ' J. S.'
Interior of the House of Commons during a debate. Pitt, a
taU lank figure, stands at the corner of the table with his back to
the spectator, wearing a white powdered wig of formal cut, tied
with a large black bag wig. The Speaker (Cornwall) is seen in
profile, and Fox, wearing a three-cornered hat, is seated, with a
stick, in iU humour, facing the spectator.
12. Engraving. A coloured Caricature: ' Honest Billy.' (E. S.)
PubUshed February 18, 1785, by S. W. Fores, PiccadUly.
An upright oval. Pitt standing at the Speaker's table, with his
face seen in profile to the right. He wears a black tie and a long
tail to his powdered hair. BiUs inscribed 'Parliamentary Ee
form ' and ' Commutation Act ' are open under his arm.
The heads of other members appear behind in shadow, with
written sentences issuing from their mouths. Above is inscribed
' Save, oh, save my country ! My father's dying words I never
can forget.' B B 2

372 PITT
13. Cameo Medallion by Wedgwood,
Alto-rilievo within a tall oval. Seen in full to the breast.
The youthful face turned in three-quarters to the left. His coat-
lappets, thrown open, are peculiarly cut.
[Engraved in woodcut in Miss Meteyard's Life of Josiah
Wedgwood, 1866, vol. ii. p. 592.]
1787. Aged 28.
14. Chalk Drawing attributed to Sir T. Lawrence. (E. S.)
Youthful face seen in profile to the left. Similar to the
oval caricature of 1785, ' Honest Billy.'
Lawrence in this year was only 18 years of age.
[Engravfed in 1841 by Lewis.]
1788. Aged 29.
15. Original Portrait by Gainsborough,
A half-length figure, the size of life, standing somewhat to the
left, holding in his left hand a partly unfolded roll, to which he
points with his right hand. The ChanceUor's robe hes across an
arm-chair to the right, and pens and inkstand and papers are on
the table beside him. He wears a coat with doubled-down coUar
fastened in the front with a single button, buttons on his cuffs,
and lace ruffles. His face is seen in three-quarters to the left,
his eyes looking at the spectator. But Mrs. Wilson, writing to
Lady Chatham in May 1790, says, ' I am a stranger to that vigour
of brow, of which Mr. Gainsborough has made so much use.'
[Engraved in the same or the next year by J. K. Sherwin.]
16. Original Portrait by Gainsborough.
The property of the Duke of Eichmond, at Goodwood.
Somewhat similar to the preceding, but less florid in composi
tion. 17. Original Portrait by Gainsborough.
The property of the Earl of Normanton, at Somerley; pur
chased from Lord Eadnor.
The following description of the picture, published by Dr.

APPENDIX 373
Waagen, vol. iv. p. 372, in his account of Lord Normanton's
collection at Somerley, shows that this portrait has close afiinity
to the preceding : ' Portrait of Pitt, still very young, standing, in
a brown coat. Next him a table, on which is an inkstand.
Behind him a deep crimson curtain. The deUcate and shrewd
features, of very earnest expression, are of masterly rendering.
The left hand is also of great beauty. One of the finest pictures
I know by the master, and certainly the most successful portrait
of this celebrated statesman.'

18. Original Portrait by Gainsborough.
The property of the Hon. Society of Lincoln's Inn.
The same as the last described.
The letter in his hand is inscribed, ' To the Et. Honble. Wm.
Pitt, First Lord of the Treasury, &c. &c. &c.'
This picture was presented to the Society in 1868 by Lady
Turner, in accordance with the wish and intention expressed by
Lord Justice Sir James Turner.

19. Original Portrait by Gainsborough.
In the possession of Earl Stanhope, at Chevening ; formerly
belonging to Archbishop Manners Sutton, and to Lord Canterbury.
To the waist, the size of life, seen within an oval border.
The position of the figure, and tum of the face, and dress are
very similar to those in the last but one portrait.
[Engraved by W. HoU, in 1862.]

20. Original Portrait by Gainsborough.
In the FitzwilUam Collection at Cambridge.
Similar to the preceding, but not showing the coat low down
enough to include the fastening by a single button.
21. Original Portrait by Gainsborough.
In the possession of Earl Amherst, at Montreal in Kent.
Similar to the preceding, but enclosed in an oval frame of oak-
leaves, painted to represent a stone carving.
It is paler and bluer in tone than the last two described.

374 PITT
22. A small Portrait on canvas, Gainsborough.
Similar to the Chevening portrait.
1789. Aged 30.
23. Original Drawing by James Gillray.
Tinted in water-colours on paper.
Seen to the waist, wearing a pale blue-grey coat with high
standing collar, a white cravat, and friUed shirt below. His closely
shaven face is seen in three-quarters, and the grey eyes fixed on
the spectator. Shafts of columns appear in the background, vrith
sky to the left. Signed in front, ' Js. GiUray.'
Other sketches in pencil are on the back. Bought by H. W.
Martin at a sale of Pores's caricatures, 1859.
Presented to the National Portrait Gallery, November 1861,
by Mr. H. W. Martin.
24. La/rge original Engraving by James Gillray. (E. S.)
Painted and engraved.
Seen to below the knees, seated in a square-backed chair,
towards the right, resting his right arm and hand upon two papers
laid on the table, inscribed ' Annual Eeduction of the National
Debt ' and ' Eegulation of the Slave Trade.' He wears a white
cravat, lace-frilled shirt-front, and a plain coat vrith taU doubled-
down ooUar and large plain buttons. He wears knee-breeches,
and the legs are crossed.
' London, Pubd. Feby. 20th, 1789, by Js. GiUray and S. W.
Fores, PiccadiUy.'
Below are the family arms, with the motto 'Benigno numine.'
25. Engraoiiig in mezzotint by John Jones, after Bomney. (E. S.)
Being an amphfication of the portrait by Eomney in 1783.
Size, 1 foot 6 inches by 1 foot 2 inches.
Seen to below the knees, seated in a square-backed chair,
nearly facing the spectator, vrith a plain pilastered wall behind.
He wears the embroidered robe of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
over a coat fastened with two large round buttons, and a light
waistcoat below. He rests the tips of his fingers on a paper laid

appendix: 375
open on a carpet-patterned table-cover, inscribed ' Eegency BUL'
His left hand grasps a plain roll of paper.
Mrs. Wilson, writing to Lady Chatham on May 30, 1790, speaks
of ' an oval portrait of Mr. Pitt, taken from a picture by Eomney
for Mr. Wilson some years since. He only sketched the head.
An engraver has now taken a print irom it, and added a body so
unUke the original that, on seeing the GoUath-like appearance, I
took the hasty resolution to decapitate Mr. Pitt, and now I have
pleasure in recognising in this mangled unfinished piece a trace of
that vivid glow of good humour and fine turn of countenance,
which I ever thought preferable to mere beauty, without which
I can form no idea of Mr. Pitt.'
And Lady Chatham answers : ' For the oval print of his
ExceUency, I confess that I never should have guessed it.'

26. Engraving in mezzotint by Haid. (E. S.)
Oval, within a square.
Copy of head and shoulders of the preceding. The face turned
the reverse way. No date or name of artist.
' Se vend ch6s Haid.'

27. Engraving in stippled outline. (E. S.)
A feeble copy of the mezzotint by John Jones. Inscribed
below : ' Pitt, Statts Minister in England. M. Zell, sculp.'

28. Caricature Etching by James Sayer.
In the British Museum.
A long, tall, striding, single figure, seen in profile, advancing to
the right. He is dressed in a black suit, with knee-breeches, a
black bag to his hair, and projecting shirt-frill. He carries a
three-cornered hat under his left arm, and holds in his right hand
a roll of paper inscribed ' Eegency Eestrictions.' It is inscribed
below, ' 17, 1789. No. 3 PiccadiUy, M. W. P.,' and to the right
'J. S.'
29. Original Mezzotint Engraving by H, Kingsbury. (E. S.)
' Published July 15, 1789, by S. W. Fores, No. 3 Piccadilly.'

376 PITT
30. Engraving by Bartolozzi, in staple. (E. S.)
After J. S. Copley's dravring for the Death of Chatham, made
in 1779, when Pitt was 20 years of age. See ante.
'PubUshed January 19th, 1789, by W. Dickinson.'
31. Medalet.
Signed and dated, ' G. I. 1789.'
A profile bust turned to the right, wearing a plain cravat and
shirt-frill. 32. Medalet.
Same size as preceding.
A profile bust turned to the right, wearing a plain tie, a laced
shirt-frill, and a queue behind. Dated 1789. ' The Eight Hon.
W. Pitt.' No artist's name.
33. Engraving by Sherwin, after Gainsborough of 1788. (E. S.)
1792. Aged 33.
34. Engraving by Bartolozzi,
A proof of the Death of Chatham, after Copley's picture in
1780, was exhibited at the Eoyal Academy this year. No. 459 of
the Catalogue. Tuer, vol. i. p. 11.
35. Original Portrait by Gainsborough Dupont,
Painted from the life.
Seen to the waist, within an oval, painted border, wearing a
coat with taU, doubled-down collar fastened by one large button,
a white cravat, and shirt-frill. The hair is grey and loose, and
not dressed in curls. The face is seen in three-quarters tumed to
the left, the eyes lookuig at the spectator vrith the side of the
nose in shadow, quite simUar to the Gainsborough types, es
pecially the Chevening portrait of 1788. It corresponds even to
the number of buttons.
The picture belonged to Sir Brook Watson, Bart.
[Engraved on a large scale by E. Earlom in 1806.]
36. Original Portrait by Gainsborough Dupont,
In the possession of the Hon. G. M. Fortescue.

APPENDIX 377
37. Original Etching. A Caricature by James Gillray. (E. S.)
'The Bottomless Pitt. PubUshed March 16, 1792, by H.
Humphrey, No. 18 Old Bond Street.'
A sUm, full-length figure seen in profile, standing to the right
at the Speaker's table with his right hand raised. The sword is
on his right side. He wears knee-breeches, buckles, ruffles, and
frill to shirt, with a large black bag and rosette to his hair. A
label issues from his mouth. There are no other figures in the
composition. 1793. Aged 34.
38. Large Picture of the Interior of the House of Commons, painted
by Carl Anton Hickel.
Commenced in 1793, and occupied him for two years. Nagler
says that he refused a considerable sum for it, and took it with
him to Hamburg, where he died in 1798. Afterwards in the
Belvedere Gallery at Vienna.
Presented by H.I.M. the Emperor of Austria to Lady Paget
for the National Portrait Gallery, and received there July 8, 1885.
The figure of Pitt is attired in a blue coat and knee-breeches,
gilt buttons, and white waistcoat. He raises his right arm with a
somewhat deprecatory gesture.
39. Original Portrait, drawn and engraved in stipple by Condi.
' Printed for J. Parsons, May 30, 1793.' Inscribed above the
oval, ' Monthly Beauties.'
A breast portrait seen within an upright oval, border composed
of two liaes. The figure is turned to the right, wearing a dark
coat with large buttons, and high folded-down collar.
1794. Aged 35.
40. Original Crayon Drawing by S, De Koster,
In the possession of W. BeUingham, Esq.
41. Engraving in mezzotint, after the preceding, (E. S.)
Crayon drawing on a large scale, 1 foot 5| inches by 1 foot
and I inch, by G. Keating. The figure is seen to the waist, within
a square deep-set border.

378 PITT
Pubhshed January 1794, by John Brydon, Charing Cross.
Printed in coloured inks, vrith a reddish tint on the face, and
a dark blue on the coat. The Pitt arms below. Dedicated to
John, Eaii of Chatham, K.G.
42. Engraming. (E. S.)
A smaU stipple portrait, of an Svo. size to suit a magazine.
Inscribed, ' Published by Chapman & Co., Fleet Street, March
1794." 43. A Copper Token, ' Cinque Ports,' (E. S.)
On the obverse a profile bust turned to the right, wearing a
coat with large turnover coUar, a close cravat, and a gown over
shoulder. Inscribed, ' The E. Hon. W. Pitt, Lord Warden Cinque Ports.'
On the reverse a shield of arms, and round it ' Cinque Ports
token. Payable at Dover, 1794.'
44. Engraving, in ' Wraxall' s Memoirs,' in Une, by W. Greatbatch.
From a miniature by Ozias Humphry, E.A.
Seen to the waist, the face turned in three-quarters to the
right, the eyes looking at the spectator. The date of the portrait
is indicated by the large bunched tie of his cravat, which was
adopted in France in the early years of the Eevolution.
See ' WraxaU's Posthumous Memoirs,' pubhshed ia 1836, vol.
ii. p. 257. 1795. Aged 36.
45. Small Etching.
A half-length figure standing to the right. Headed ' Minis-
terial Eloquence.' ' A. S. inv., pubhshed Jany. 6, 1795, by H.
Humphrey.' Wearing a coat with high folded-down coUar, and
neckcloth tied in a bow. His right hand, palm upwards, held
forward. Lines below, ' Our great successes, &c.'
46. Portrait painted by C. A. Hickel, and engraved by F. G, Hoeck.
(Probable date.)
47. Large square Mezzotint Engraving, from the preceding.
(E. S.)
A half-length figure seated to the right at a table, resting his

APPENDIX 379
right arm on a sheet of the ' Times ' newspaper which lies across
the table. >
'WilUam Pitt. Pamted by A. Hickel. Engraved by F. G.
Hoeck.' 1796. Aged 37.
48. Full-length Portrait, in the Court-room of Trinity House,
painted by Gainsborough Dupont,
Date of payment recorded on the Court books, June 24, 1796.
' Paid Mr. Dupont for painting a fuU-length portrait of Mr. Pitt
with four others for the new Court-room, 420L'
A fuU-length figure, the size of life, standing to the left,
resting firmly on his left leg. He holds forth a paper inscribed
'A BiU, &c.,' in his right hand, the left rests on his hip.
Across a richly-gilt chair, behind him, to the right is laid the
embroidered robe of the ChanceUor of the Exchequer. He wears
a blue coat with tall standing scarlet collar and gilt buttons, a
white cravat and frill, a long straight waistcoat, and knee-breeches
of yellowish white, and small gilt buttons. The face is tumed in
three-quarters to the left ; his black, glistening eyes look piercingly
at the spectator. The cuffs of his sleeves are of the same blue as
his coat. The scarlet coUar alone designates the rank of Master
or Elder Brotherhood of the Trinity House.
A richly-painted picture, with powerful shadows.
[Engraved in 1808 by Bromley.]
1797. Aged 38.
49. Portrait by W, Miller, (E. S.)
Engraved in mezzotint by J. Murphy.
The figure, seen rather more than half-length, stands facing
the spectator, wearing a dark coat fastened by one metal button
over a hght waistcoat. The face is turned in three-quarters to
the left, the eyes looking upwards with a theatrical expression.
On a table below to the left lies the Chancellor's gown.
' W. Miller pinxit, J. Murphy sculpsit. The Bight Honble.,
&c. PubUshed May 1797 by G. Testohni, 73 CornhUl.'
50. Engraved in Mezzotint by John Young, after C, A. Hickel, (E.S.)
Coloured. Dated March 1.
Hickel's picture was also engraved by P. M. Aiix.

380 PITT
1798. Aged 39.
51. Coloured Caricature (May 10, 1798). (E. S.)
' He would be a soldier, the sweet WiUy 0.'
Pitt as a soldier, standing vrith musket in position of attention,
seen in profile to the right. His eye is fixed on the spectator.
At the top of the plate is inscribed, ' The Eoyal Soldier in his
Majesty's Service.'
52. Coloured Caricature (July 30, 1798.) (E. S.)
' Military Portraits.' An oblong square.
Pitt is seen in scarlet uniform mounted on horseback in profile
to the right. His sabre rests on his shoulder. Spectators in the
distance. 1799. Aged 40.
53. Portrait painted by W, Owen.
. Formerly in the possession of Viscount Melville, and now the
property of the Duke of Newcastle at Clumber.
[Engraving pubUshed in 1806.]
To the waist, within a square, wearing a dark blue coat, red
coUar (Windsor uniform), and metal buttons, with a cross or
anchor upon them. On canvas, the size of hfe.
54. Mezzotint Engraving from the above by H. S, Goed (an
anagram of Hodges). (E. S.)
Description same as above.
'WiUiam Pitt. Pubhshed June 4, 1799, by H. S. Goed,
Leicester Square.'
[Another engraving from this picture was done in hne on a
smaller scale by F. Bartolozzi, &c., pubhshed February 1806.]
55. Crayon Drawing by S. De Easier.
Exhibited at the London Tavern, August 14, 1799.
The pose of the figure is simUar to that of the last-described
portrait. Very superior to De Koster's portrait executed in 1794.
56. Large square Stipple Engraving, after De Koster. (E. S.)
' The Eight Honble. WiUiam Pitt. Pubhshed August 1799
by J. Brydon, No. 7 Charing Cross.'

APPENDIX 381
57. Oval Engraving. (B. S.)
Small size, foreign.
' Pitt, Grand Ministre d'Angleterre. L. Schleimer fee. 1799.'
Engraved in stipple, and printed in brown.
The hair is cropped, with a pig-tail and black bow. He also
wears short whiskers. Entirely unlike any authentic representa
tion of Pitt.
58. Full-length standing Portrait by Sir Bobert Ker Porter,
A tall standing figure, facing the spectator, in dark coat, knee-
breeches, white waistcoat, white cravat and shirt-frill, extending
his right hand towards the Chancellor's robe, which lies on a
chair to the left. He grasps a roll held down in his left hand,
inscribed ' Supplies and Means for 1799.'
The general attitude is theatrical.
59. Engraving, full-length, of the preceding, in mezzotint. (E. S.)
' E. K. Porter, Pinxit. S. W. Eeynolds, Sculpt.'
60. Medalet, (E. S.)
A bust in profile to the left, in a coat with two buttons, shirt-
frill in front. The hair full, as in Owen's portrait belonging to
this year, with a pigtail in addition.
Inscribed above, ' WiUiam Pitt.'
1800. Aged 41.
61. Bust by L. Gahagan,
Exhibited at the Eoyal Academy, No. 1092 of the Catalogue.
[Gahagan was an assistant to NoUekens.]
1801. Aged 42.
62. Drawing by H. Ed/ridge.
Exhibited at the Eoyal Academy in 1801, No. 359 of the Cata
logue. A full-length figure seated to the left, with a paper on his right
knee. He wears a plain coat with metal buttons (one of them
appearing within the nick of the collar, as in Owen's portrait of

382 PITT
1799), knee-breeches, and shoes. The face is turned in three-
quarters to the left, the eyes looking at the spectator. The robe
is laid on the table before him, with boxes, inkstand, and papers.
This portrait corresponds closely with Owen's picture of 1799.
It is at Luffness, the residence of Mr. Hope. It was a
present from Mr. Pitt to General Sir A. Hope, conveyed in a
letter which is still preserved.
63. Engraming in stipple, from the above, by Anthony Ca/rdon. (E.S.)
1803. Aged 44.
64. Wax Medallion, an alto-rilievo, by S. Percy.
Exhibited at the Eoyal Academy, No. 1027 of the Catalogue.
Now in the possession of John Lumsden Propert, Esq.
1804.
65. Engraved Portrait, in upright oval.
Similar to the portrait by Owen in 1799. Small deviations in
the collar of the coat.
' Orme delin. Godley sculp. The Et. Honorable, &c.'
' Pubhshed by Edwd. Orme, His Majesty's PriutseUer, 1804.'
Face turned in three-quarters to the left ; the dark eyes fixed
on the spectator. Light admitted from the right-hand side.
1805. Aged 46.
66. Original Portrait by J, Hoppner (the frontispiece of this book).
Formerly in the possession of the Marquess of Normandy,
K.G., and the last portrait Pitt ever sat for.
Lord Normanby as a boy went vrith his father to Hoppner's,
and saw Pitt then sitting for it.
' This portrait was finished Oct. 28, 1805.'
' It had not been sent home when Pitt died (Clint had been
engraving it). Then came apphcations from the most intimate
friends of the deceased statesman for copies. AU these, made
before the original was sent home, were by express permission of
Lord Mulgrave. After that, I know copies of copies were multi
plied to any that vrished them. My picture went home before
the end of 1806, and has never been away since then' (Lord
Normanby to Earl Stanhope, May 2, 1862). It was shown at the

APPENDIX 883
British Institution in 1863, No. 154 of the Catalogue, having been
brought up in consequence of the publication of Lord Stanhope's
Life. It is now the property of W. A. Burdett-Coutts, M.P.
The foUowing Portraits by J. Hoppner correspond exactly
vrith the Mulgrave Picture, and are attributable to this period.
They belong to :
67. The Earl of Harrowby, K.G.
68. The Marquess Camden, K.G. [Now at Bayham Abbey.]
69. The Earl of Verulam. [Now at Gorhambury.]
70. Trinity CoUege, Cambridge. [In the Master's Lodge.]
71. Merchant Taylors' Hall, London. [Presented June 1843
to the Court by NeweU Connop) Junr., Treasurer to the Pitt
Club, whieh used to hold its triennial dinner in the Company's
HaU.] 72. Earl of St. Germans. [At Port Ehot.]
73. National Gallery. [Presented in 1853 by Mr. George
Moffatt. Now deposited in the National Portrait Gallery, 1884.]
74. Lord Grenville (uncertain). [At Dropmore.]
75. Mr. Dundas, of Amiston. (Kitcat, 2 feet 5 inches by 2 feet.)
[At Amiston.] '
76. A Deviation. Hoppner Portrait,
The original picture is in the possession of Lord Carrington,
and is at Wycombe Abbey, Bucks.
1806. Aged 46 and 8 Months.
77. Mezzotint Engraving by George Clint, after the Hoppner
Portrait last described. (E. S.)
' PubUshed Jany. 20th, 1806, by Messrs. Colnaghi & Co.'
Death of Pitt. (January 23, 1806.)
78. An Original Drawing of the Death Mask,
by G, Scharf C.B., F.S.A. (B. S.)
From this mask NoUekens executed his numerous busts.
79. Original Study of the Head alone, by J. Hoppner.
In the possession of Sir Walter Stirling, Bart.
> The Earl of Malmesbury also has a portrait by Hoppner.

384 PITT
80. Large Mezzotint Engraming by Earlom, after Gainsborough
Dupont. (E. S.)
Painted in 1792.
81. A large full-length Port/rait in oil (posthumous), painted for
the Grocers' Company by J. Hoppner.
The price paid for it, with frame, in February 1807, was
204Z. 10s. 82. Marble Bust of Pitt by NoUekens.
WilUams, in his ' Life of Sir Thomas Lawrence,' vol. i. p. 280,
states that NoUekens's busts were solely taken from a post-mortem
mask and the portrait by Hoppner lent by Lord Mulgrave.
Smith, in his ' Life of NoUekens,' mentions a bust of Pitt as
always on sale by the sculptor, vol. ii. p. 74. He obtained an
order from Trinity College, Cambridge, for a statue at the price of
4,000Z. He sold 74 busts at 120 guineas each, which were
executed for him by some inferior artist, and 600 casts at Gl,
apiece. 83. An imitation of the preceding,
A bust in marble, is at Clandon Park.
84. Small bronze Bust.
Attributable to this period, in the possession of the Merchant
Taylors' Company. 85. Engra/oing by Bartolozzi.
In line, after the portrait by Wm. Owen in 1799.
86. Silhouette by J. Field. (E. S.)
After NoUekens's bust. A note on the copy in the British
Museum states that it was submitted to Lady Hester Stanhope
and touched by her. 87. Engraved Portrait. (E. S.)
' Josph. Bye sculpsit. PubUshed Dec. Sth, 1806.'
88. Engraving in stipple. (B. S.)
Within an oval. ' Orme delin. Godley sculp. Jany. 25, 1806.'

APPENDIX 385
89. A small Etching, colowed. (E. S.)
Published March 1806 by Laurie and Whittle.
90. A coloured Caricature, ' An Evergreen.' (B. S.)
' Published AprU Srd, 1806, by S. W. Fores.'
91. Medallion. (E. S.)
A head in profile to the right in ivory, on a bronze badge
inscribed ' Non sibi sed patriae.' On the reverse ' Pitt Club.'
92. Medallion.
Inscribed, ' Gulielmus Pitt,' by ' Halliday.'
93. Medallion.
Eound the rim, ' He was a man,' &c. Signed ' Ph. Wyon.'
94. Medallion.
Signed below near the outer rim, ' T. W. Ingram.'
95. Medallion. (E. S.)
Inscribed, ' Guhelmo Pitt, E.P.Q.B.' Signed ' F. Webb.'
96. MedaUion, (E. S.)
The Pitt Club of the town and county of Leicester.
1807.
97. Bust by Garrard.
98. Bust by P. Tumerelli.
99. Profile in Wax, by Miss Andras.
100. Engraving of a Cameo Portrait.
PubUshed by Daniel. C 0

386 PITT 1808.
101. Original Oil Painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence,
A posthumous portrait. The size of Ufe.
[This picture is in the possession of the Earl of Eosebery.]
102. A similar Picture, by Sir Thomas Lawrence,
Is in the corridor at Windsor Castle.
103. Marble Bust by NoUekens.
Presented, March 1861, by Earl Granville to the National
Portrait GaUery.
104. Large Mezzotint Engraming, by John Young, of the bust by
NoUekens. (E. S.)
105. Bust by G, Garrard,
106. Full-length Line Engraving by William Bromley, (E. S.)
From the fuU-length picture in the Court-room of Trinity
House, painted by Gainsborough Dupont in 1796.
1809.
107. Full-length Painting by Blake.
Now in the National GaUery.
108. Bust by Flaxman.
109. Engraving of the Head, from a bust by Flaxman.
' Published Oct. 1809, by T. CadeU and W. Davies.'
110. Model of a Bust by Garrard.
Wearing the robes of the ChanceUor of the Exchequer.
111. Model by Garrard.
For a statue, in a Master of Arts' gown.

APPENDIX 387
112. Wax profile (?) by P, Boun,
113. Profile (?) by T, Warner,
1810.
114. Marble Bust by Sir F, Chantrey.
In Trinity House, Tower HiU, in the Model-room.
Another bust by Chantrey, executed in 1835, is in the HaU of
Pembroke College, Cambridge.
115. Stipple Vignette Engraving by H. Meyer. (E. S.)
Of the head from Hoppner's portrait painted in 1805.
116. Medallion. (B. S.)
' Sheffield Pitt Club, 1810.' 1811.
117. Gem Engraving by W. Brown.
118. Intaglio by N, Marchant.
1812.
119. Engraving in stipple, by T. Blood.
Prom the bust by Flaxman, for the ' European Magazine.'
1813.
120. Monument with allegorical figures, in Guildhall, London,
by J. G. Bubb,
Proposed in 1806, was completed this year. It cost
4,078Z. 17s. Zd,
The inscription was from the pen of George Canning.
121. Pitt's Monument in Guildhall, engraved in outline
by G, Cooke. (E. S.) c c 2

388 PITT
122. The Mmmment in Guildhall, a small square engraming
by W, Finden. (E. S.)
123. Monument by Westmacott.
At the west end of Westminster Abbey.
It is described in Dean Stanley's ' Westmhister Abbey,'
p. 288 : ' Pitt stands in his robes of ChanceUor of the Ex
chequer, over the west door of the Abbey, trampling on the
French Eevolution in the attitude so well known by his con
temporaries, " dravring up his haughty head, stretching out his
arm with commanding gesture, and pouring forth the lofty
language of inextinguishable hope." '
124. Medallion.
' Dudley Pitt Club, 1813.' Signed ' Wm. Wyon.'
125. Medallion. (E. S.)
Inscribed, ' Manchester Pitt Club.' Signed ' F. Wyon.'
126. Medallion. (B. S.)
' Wolverhampton Pitt Club, 1813.' Signed ' F. Wyon.'
1814.
127. Medallion.
• Warrington Pitt Club.'
128. Medallion, (E. S.)
Birmmgham Pitt Club, 1814.
129. Medalet, (E. S.)
Nottingham Pitt Club, 1814.
130. Large Medallion,
131. Large Bronze Medallion, (E. S.)
Similar profile to the preceding. Inscribed, ' T. Wyon, Jun.'

APPENDIX 389
132. Medalet. (E. S.)
• Stirling Pitt Club, 1814.' 1815.
133. Full-length Marble Statue by NoUekens.
In the Senate House, Cambridge.
134. Full-length Engraming by J. Heath, from the preceding
Statue,
135. Small Engraving in the stipple manner,
by W, T, Fry. (E. S.)
' From an original drawing by T. Gainsborough.'
136. Portrait by Shepperson.
137. Engraving by Walker, in line, after the preceding, (E. S.)
138. Large Engraving in stipple, by Gaugain. (E. S.)
PubUshed by Edward Orme.
The size of life, after the portrait by Gainsborough at Chevening.
139. Engraving by E. Bell on large folio plate, from the bust by
Gahagan, 1818.
140. Original Portrait by G. Harlowe.
(Posthumous.) In the Hall of Pembroke CoUege, Cambridge.
141. Model for a statue ' to be cast in bronze,'
Exhibited by E. Westmacott at the Eoyal Academy.
142. Engraving of a statue by Cook, after a drawing by Bromlev.
(E. S.)

390 PITT1820.
143. Line Engraving of ' The Death of Chatham,' by Delatre.
(E. S.)
A smaU copy from Bartolozzi's large hne engraving.
' Pubhshed March 1st, 1820, by Wm. J. White, Brownlow St.'
144. Medallion.
Blackburn Hundred Pitt Club, 1820.
145. Engraving after Bartolozzi's ' Death of Chatham,' in line, hy
Delatre. 1821.
146. Silver Medallion, (E. S.)
Suffolk Pitt Club. 147. Medalet,
Suffolk Pitt Club. 1822.
148. Small square line Engraving by Thomas Bragg, after the
Hoppner portrait of 1805. (E. S.)
1823.
149. Portrait of Mr. W. Pitt,
Exhibited at the Eoyal Academy by J. Kennedy.
150. Small Head, after Clint.
Engraved in hne by John Henry Eobinson.
1831.
151. Colossal Bronze Status by Sir F, Chantrey.
Erected in Hanover Square. The statue cost £7,000.
[Cunningham, in his 'Handbook to London,' 1850, p. 221,
gives an account of an attempt made to puU down and destroy
the statue whilst Chantrey's workmen employed in placing it on

APPENDIX 391
its pedestal were absent at their breakfast. The statue belongs to
the proprietor of Hanover Square, and does not appear in a Parlia
mentary return of public statues in London moved for by Mr.
Hankey, June 30, 1862.] 1833.
152. Colossal Bronze Statue by Chantrey,
SimUar to the preceding.
Erected at Edinburgh, and inscribed on the base, 'F. Chantrey,
Sculptor and Founder, 1833.'
153. Mezzotint Engraving by S, Cousins, of the preceding bro^ize
statue, ' William Pitt,' (E. S.)
From a statue in bronze erected in Edinburgh by the Pitt Club
of Scotland twenty-three years after his death.
1834.
154. Small figure in biscuit, probably by Cocker of Derby.
1835.
155. Marble Bust by Chantrey.
Presented by Lord Farnborough to the University of Cam
bridge, and placed in the Hall of Pembroke CoUege.
1836.
156. Mezzotint Engraving by S, W, Beynolds, (E. S.)
From the posthumous portrait by Lawrence, now at Windsor.
157. Engraving, after a portrait by Ozias Humphry,
Pubhshed in WraxaU's ' Posthumous Memoirs,' vol. ii. p. 257.
1837.
158. Mezzotint Engraving by C. Turner, (E. S.)
1841.
159. Engraving by Lewis, after Sir T. Lawrence's sketch in 1787.
(B. S.)

392 PITT
1861.
160. Engraming by Wm. HoU, in stipple, (E. S.)
From the original drawing by Copley, in the possession of
Earl Stanhope, at Chevening. Frontispiece to the 'Life of
Wilham Pitt,' by Earl Stanhope. 1862.
161. Engraving in mixed style, by William HoU. (B. S.)
From the original picture by Gainsborough, in the possession
of Earl Stanhope, at Chevening.
Frontispiece to vol. iii. of the ' Life of WiUiam Pitt.' The
original picture belongs to the year 1788.
Note. — In addition to the foregoing there are four other portraits men
tioned in the Catalogue of British Messotinto Portraits, by J. Chaloner Smith,
pp. 781, 963, 1760 and 1763 ; and then there may, of course, be a few others
that had not eome under the notice of Mr. Scharf at date of catalogue ; but,
having regard to his wide knowledge and great powers of research, it is most
improbable that there can be many omissions.

INDEX

Abbott (Colchester), 268
Abercromby, Sir B., 264
Addington, Et. Hon. H. S., 246,
312, 315, 317, 323, 325
Ailesbury, Lord, 6
Amherst, Sir G., 25
Appleby, 35
Argyll, Duke of, 41, 51
Auckland, Lord, 67, 71, 196, 197,
234, 242, 248, 265, Preface

Babkington, Sir J., 62-65, 221
BaU, Et. Hon. John T., 50, 299
Beresford, Et. Hon. John, 67, 69,
70, 71, 131, 132, 135, 139, 198,
216, 217, 225, 237, 265
Bolton, Lord. See Orde
Bond, OUver, 268
Brougham, Lord, 40, 326
Buckingham, Lord, 217
Buckinghamshire, Lady, 246
Burdett-Coutts, W. A., Preface
Burgh, Hussey, 53
Burke, Edmund, 35, 38, 89, 148,
181, 214, 215, 236

Camden, Lord, 92, 264
CampbeU, Lord, 200, 304, 325, 326
Canning, G., 24, 41, 317, 318, 359
CarUsle, Lord, 67, 191,207, 208,210
Castlereagh, Lord, 271, 294, 303,
306, 361, 363
Cavendish, Lord G., 218
Chatham, Lady, mother of Pitt,
2, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,

20, 24, 28, 30, 31, 35, 150, 166,
160, 161, 164, 166, 170
Chatham, Lord," father of Pitt, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 20, 31
Chatham, second Earl, 169, 172,
173, 175, 177, 179, 309
Clare, Lord (see Fitzgibbon), ch. viii.
passim, 64, 294, 295
Clare, Lady, 277
Cleveland, Duchess of. Preface, 324,
358
Clonmel, Lord, 65, 66, 136
Cooke, E., 119
Coombe Wood, 6 note
CornwaUis, Lord, 291, 306
Corry, Lord, 288
Crewe, Mrs., 38, 236
Curran, Et. Hon. J. P., 65, 144, 250,
262, 263

Davis, Thomas, 53
Derby, Lord, 40
De Stael. See Necker
Devonshire, Duke of, 7
Devonshire, Georgina, Duchess of,
312
Duffy, Sir G. C, 55
Dumaresque, 6
Duncan, Admiral, 265
Dundas, H., 39, 183, 322

Eden. See Auckland, Lord
Eden, Hon. Eleanor, 234, 241, 246
Eldon, Lord, 172, 325,326, 328,361
EUott, Lady Harriot, 32
EUott, Pitt's brother-in-law, 156

394

PITT

Paequhae, Sir W., 355
Fitzgerald, Lord Edward, 227, 265
Fitzgibbon (see Clare), ch. viii. 69,
294, 295
Fitzwilliam, Lord (ch. vi. passim)
Flood, Et. Hon. W., 98, 144, 146
Foster, Speaker, 136, 294, 299
Fox, C. J., 35, 37, 38, 39, 84, 127,
148, 313, 328, 329, 361, 362, 367
Froude, 54, 65

Geoege III., 88, 207, 223, 307, 308,
318, 321, 329, 331, 351, 352, 354,
367
Gibbon, E., 41
Giffard, Life, 33
Gladstone, Bt. Hon. W. B., 130,
181, 362
Goostree Club, 24
Grattan, Et. Hon. Henry, 65, 143,
144, 182, 194, 199, 207, 214, 293,
305
GrenviUe, James, 6
GrenviUe, Lord, 184, 186, 329, 330

Haedwickb, Lord, 271
Hely-Hutchinson, 48, 50, 52
Hobart, Lord, 245
Hoche, General, 227
Hope, A., 324
Howth, Lord, 52
Hutchinson. See Hely-Hutchinson

Ingram, T. D., 94, ch. ix.
Irish Parliament, 45

Jeffrey, 267
Joyce, P. W., LL.D., 68

Kendall, 76
Kmg, The. See George III.
Kirwan, Eev. Dr., 221

Laurentius, 6
Lecky, Eight Hon. W. E. H.,
Preface, 65, 68, 181, 258, 265, 280,
284, 285
Lewis, Sir G. C, 313, 326

Lifford, Lord, 255
Lincoln, Bishop of. See Tomline
Liverpool, Lord, 33
Loughborough, Lord, 200, 212, 215,
303, 304

MacNally, 227
MacNevin, 226
Mansfield, Lord, 92, 98
MUman, Dean, 317, 326
Milton, Lord, 191, 198
Molyneux, 51
Montgomery, Sir G., 218
Morley, Et. Hon. John, 148
Mornington, Lord. See Lord Wel
lesley
Mountjoy, Lord, 63

Necker, MdUe., 232, 233
Norbury, Lord, 65
North, Lord, 35, 37, 38, 39, 46

O'Beiene, Eev. Dr., 190, 192, 205,
221
O'Leary, Father, 84
Oliphant, Mrs., 56
Orde, Et. Hon. Thomas, 43, 44, 45,
69, 77, 79, 83, 85, 91, 92, 96, 97,
100, 102, 103, 107, 108, 111, 115,
124, 134, 188, 145
Orde-Powlett. See Orde
Ormonde, Duke of, 47

Parnell, Sir John, 198, 290
Pelham, Lord, 264, 270, 277, 278, 313
Pembroke HaU, 7, 30
Pitt, W., passim
Plunket, Lord, 226, 294
Ponsonby fanuly, 190, 191, 195
Ponsonby, George, 191, 192, 198,
ch. vi. passim
Portland, Duke of, 181, 182, 185, 203
Pretyman (see Tomline), 7, 8, 26,
31, 238, 306, 311, 312, 315, 316,
318, 323, ch. xi.
Pretyman, Ernest G., M.P., Preface
Pretyman, Mrs., 345, 848

Beilly, Sheriff, 252

INDEX

395

Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 74, 75
Eose, Bt. Hon. G., 109, 136, 141,
305, 306, 317, 356, 359
Eosebery, Lord, 44, 181, 182, 223, 326
Bussell, Lord John, 36
Butland, Duchess of, 43
Rutland, Duke of, 31, 37, 39, 42, 58,
62, 69, 72, 73, 74, 78,99,101, 111,
115, 116, 120, 121, 145, 146, 252,
255, 305
Rutland, present Duke of, Preface

Searle, Rev. Dr., Pembroke HaU, 7
Selwyn, George, 35, 37
Sheares, Brothers, 229, 265
Shelburne, Lord, 36, 37, 43, 44, 53
Sheridan, C. F., 269
Sheridan, E. B., 38, 134, 181, 362
Spenser, Lord, 181, 182, 185
Stanhope, Lady Hester, 244, 245,
323, 358
Stanhope, Lord, historian, 2, 6, 8,
40, 150, 172, 238
Stanhope, present Lord, Preface, 2
Stanhope, Hon. Mrs. Edward, Pre
face
Stanhope, Rt. Hon. Edward, Preface
Swift, Dean, 52
Sydney, Lord, 119, 122, 123

Tandy, Napper, 251
Temple, Lord, 38, 39, 42
Thurlow, Lord, 39
Tierney, G., 167
Tomhne, Bishop (see Pretyman), 7,
8, 26, 31, 238, 306, 311, 312, 315,
816, 318, ch. xi.
Tone, Wolfe, 225, 226
Tumer, Rev. Dr., 7, 8
Tyrone, Lord, 68

Walsh, Right Hon. J. E., 59
Waterford, late Marquis of, Preface
WeUesley, Arthur (Wellington), 114,
256
WeUesley, Lord, 5, 114
Westminster Abbey, 31, 364
Westmorland, Lord, 281, 305
Wilson, Rev. B., 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 151,
159
Wilberforce, 24, 33, 40, 231, 234,
359
WUUam IIL, 48
Windham, 24, 40, 181, 279, 361
Wolfe, Lord KUwarden, 220
WraxaU, Sir N., 33, 172

York, Duke of, 279

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