THE NEW MINISTRY.
In the ranks of the opposition there were two parties: one which contended for the complete emancipation of the colonies; and the other, though opposed to the principle of taxation and the continuance of hostilities, which still wished to maintain the principle of supremacy over the colonies. At the head of the first of these parties was the Marquess of Rockingham, and of the second, the Earl of Shelburne. His majesty was still reluctant to acknowledge the independence of the colonists, and he, therefore, naturally looked to Lord Shelburne as the successor of Lord North. Accordingly Shelburne was sent for, and had the first post offered him; but his lordship informed his majesty that, in his opinion, no one could at present fill that situation except Lord Rockingham. A negociation was therefore set on foot with the Marquess, whose appointment was soon afterwards announced, with Lord Shelburne and Mr. Fox as secretaries of state. The other new ministers were Lord Camden, as president of the council; the Duke of Grafton, as keeper of the seal; Admiral Keppel, created viscount, as first lord of the admiralty; Lord John Cavendish, as chancellor of the exchequer; General Conway, as commander-in-chief; Mr. Dunning, created Lord Ashburton, as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster; and the Duke of Richmond, as master-general of the ordnance. Lord Thurlow retained the great seal. The other departments of the state were filled by persons eminent for rank or talent. The Duke of Portland was sent out as lord-lieutenant of Ireland; Mr. Burke was made paymaster of the forces; Mr. T. Townshend became secretary at war, and Colonel Barré treasurer of the navy; Mr. Sheridan was under-secretary of state; Lord Howe, created viscount, was appointed to the command of the grand fleet; Mr. Kenyon and Mr. John Lee were made attorney and solicitor-general; and Sir William Howe was made lieutenant-general of the ordnance. The usual changes, also, took place in the royal household; at which the king was far more affected than he was by the total change in the ministry. It is said that William Pitt was offered the place of a lord of the treasury, which office he rejected with disdain. Be this as it may, Pitt, who had largely contributed to the overthrow of Lord North’s cabinet, remained without post or situation. Pitt, however, probably consoled himself with the idea that the new ministry would not retain the reins of government for any length of period, and that on their ruin he might rise to the highest office in the state. From the very conditions, indeed, upon which the Marquess of Rockingham consented to form the new ministry, and to place himself at the head, it was clear that his administration would not be of long duration. These conditions were:—“Peace with the Americans, and the acknowledgment of their independence not to be a bar to the attainment of that object. A substantial reform in the several branches of the civil list expenditure, on the plan proposed by Mr. Burke. The diminution of the influence of the crown, under which article the bills for excluding contractors from seats in parliament, and disqualifying the revenue-officers from voting in the election of members, were included.” These were arbitrary measures to impose upon a monarch holding-such sentiments as George III., and it was manifest to all men of discernment that the men who imposed them upon him could not hope to possess his confidence. Moreover, there were wide disagreements in the cabinet, as to the means of pursuing the first of these objects, and as to the lengths to which the others should be carried. Finally, mutual jealousies and dislikes existed between the members of the confederated parties; and it required no prophetic eye to foresee that they would never act with that unanimity requisite for the establishment of their power. The issue was, that “every day brought forth a new proof of that hatred which the parties composing this administration bore towards each other; the Rockinghams abused Lord Shelburne for want of good faith; and the reply of the Shelburnes was, that they were in no ways pledged to Lord Rockingham.”