Before his majesty made any reply to the resolutions presented to him, the St. Albans-tavern association prevailed upon Pitt to agree that a message should be sent in the king’s name to the Duke of Portland, expressing a desire that his grace should hold a conference with Mr. Pitt for the purpose of forming an administration, “on a wide basis, and on fair and equal terms.” This message was sent, but the Duke of Portland still required Pitt to resign before he negociated; and this attempt to form a coalition of parties proved, like the former, to be of no avail. Open war, therefore, continued between the two parties, and its violence increased when, on the 18th of February, after the order of the day had been read for taking the supplies into consideration, Pitt intimated, that his majesty had not thought proper to dismiss his ministers, in compliance with the resolution of that house, and that they had not resigned. Fox, in reply, expressed his astonishment at this declaration, and declared that such language had not been heard in the house since the revolution; and that the commons had never before received such a reply from a prince of the House of Hanover. Enraged thereby, Fox moved, that the report of the committee of supply should not be received till the 20th, which motion was carried by a majority of twelve only. The friends of Pitt saw in this small majority a ray of hope that he would ultimately triumph, and the opposition seemed to think so likewise, for some eagerly desired a compromise. Pitt, however, declared, that he would enter into no compromise or stipulation for passing the vote of supplies, and therefore he still stood upon his own grounds. On the 20th Mr. Powys moved a resolution, humbly requesting his majesty “to take such measures as might tend to give effect to the wishes of his faithful commons.” This mild resolution did not please Fox and his party, and an amendment was moved to insert the following words—“by removing any obstacle to the formation of such an administration as this house has declared to be requisite in the present critical situation of affairs.” As this amendment aimed at the dismissal of ministers, a long and stormy debate ensued, in the course of which Pitt delivered one of the most eloquent speeches ever uttered within the walls of the house of commons. But no eloquence could break down the obstinacy of the house; for the motion, with the amendment, was carried by a majority of twenty; and Fox, pursuing his triumph, moved and carried an address., to be presented to his majesty on his throne by the whole house, praying him to dismiss his ministers. The report of the ordnance estimates was then brought up and agreed to without a division, after which, between five and six in the morning, the house adjourned.
The address voted by the commons was presented on the 25th, when his majesty in reply, stated that he had heard no valid charge against the ministers of his appointment; that all proposals for a coalition, though seconded by himself, had proved abortive; and that he could not see in what way the public interest was likely to be promoted by the dismissal of his cabinet. He added:—“Under these circumstances, I trust my faithful commons will not wish that the essential offices of executive government should be vacated until I see a prospect that such a plan of union as I have called for, and they have pointed out, may be carried into effect.” The efforts of the opposition now grew more violent. The house met on the 27th to hear the report of the king’s answer; and on that occasion Lord Beaumont moved, first, that the report should be taken into consideration on the 1st of March, and then that the house should adjourn to that day. To the first of these propositions Pitt made no objection, but as the object of the second was to delay the supplies, and this delay would cause serious evils, inasmuch as they related to the navy, he strongly resisted such a hazardous measure. His arguments told even upon the opposition, for though the motion was carried, it was only by the small majority of seven; the numbers being one hundred and seventy-five to one hundred and sixty-eight. But the struggle was not yet over. On the 1st of March, Fox moved and carried another address to the king, which directly asserted the right of the commons to advise his majesty on the exercise of his prerogative, and by virtue of that right, specifically requesting him to dismiss his ministers. The commons carried this address to the king on the 4th of March, and were told in reply that his majesty still entertained the same sentiments he had formerly expressed. On the same evening it was agreed, upon the motion of Fox, that this reply should be taken into consideration on Monday, the 8th of March. In the meantime Pitt was once more defeated. On the 5th, Fox moved that the committee on the Mutiny Bill, which stood for that day, should be adjourned till Monday, which was carried by a majority of nine; the numbers being one hundred and seventy-one against one hundred and sixty-two. But this was Fox’s last triumph in this memorable struggle. On Monday the house was crowded to excess. Strangers had even taken their seats in the gallery as early as ten o’clock in the morning, in expectation of witnessing this last struggle in the trial of the two great parties in the house of commons. Before the debates commenced, however, Sir James Lowther, after complaining that he had not been able to find room for a friend, and stating that he had reason to believe there were strangers there not introduced by members, insisted upon the standing order of the house for excluding all strangers being carried into execution; and the gallery was forthwith cleared. When this was done, Fox, after accusing his sturdy opponent with insolent and unconstitutional conduct, declaring that a union of parties was now impracticable, and lamenting the disgrace and ruin which this struggle had brought upon the country, moved, as a last measure, another address to the throne, which repeated at greater length the prayer for the removal of ministers; expressing the surprise and affliction of the house at receiving the answer to its former address, and vindicating the loyalty of the commons, who were said to be incapable of desiring to lessen the prerogative of the crown. Pitt sat silent, and the task of defending the conduct of ministers fell upon Dundas, who did so with great ability. The debate lasted till midnight, when the house became impatient to divide. It was an anxious moment for both parties, and loud and vociferous were the cheers on the ministerial benches, when it was found that Fox had this time only a majority of one in his favour; the numbers being one hundred and ninety-one against one hundred and ninety. The struggle was, indeed, now over; for the opposition acknowledged the majority of one only as a defeat. Henceforth they tried no more divisions: the Mutiny Bill and supplies were voted readily, and the Appropriation Act was no more brought forward. Pitt’s triumph was complete: and yet he deemed it prudent to strengthen his cause by a new election; lest the opposition should again rally and retard his measures. Reports to this effect were soon spread abroad, and the subject was brought before parliament on the 22nd of March, by Sir Grey Cooper, who declared that such a step would be both daring and unwarrantable under present circumstances. The subject was renewed on the next day, when the report of the committee of supply was to be brought up, but though Pitt was eagerly questioned on the subject by Lord North and other members of the house, he still preserved silence. The house, however, did not have to wait long for the confirmation of the report. On the 24th, the king went down to the house of lords, and put an end to the session by prorogation; at the same time declaring that he felt it to be a duty which he owed to the constitution and the country, to recur to the sense of his people, by convoking a new parliament. The sentence of dissolution was soon pronounced, for it appeared in the next day’s Gazette.
A GENERAL ELECTION.
Pitt had good reasons to believe that a general election would result greatly in his favour. There can be no doubt, indeed, that if he had adopted such a measure at the first, that he would have been spared the trouble of contending with the opposition. At the same time if parliament had been dissolved on an earlier day, it is probable that he might not have had such bright prospects for the future. Every day his conduct seemed to gain him friends among the people; while on the other hand the popularity of his rival rapidly decreased. There were two grand causes which led to the decay of the popularity of Fox; namely, his coalition with Lord North and his party; and his India Bill, which arrayed against him not only the influence of the East India Company, but also of almost all the good citizens of London. The city of London had, indeed, showed much sympathy with the youthful premier, Pitt, in this memorable struggle. At the latter end of February, they voted him the freedom of the city, which they presented to him in great state at the house of Lord Chatham, in Berkeley-square, whence he was conducted by the committee to a grand dinner at the Grocers’-hall. What sentiments were entertained towards him may be gathered from the speech which Wilkes, the chamberlain of the city, made on this occasion. After lavishing much praise on Pitt, he thus alluded to the parliamentary contest, which was then at its height:—“I know, sir, how high you stand in the confidence of the public: much is to be done, but you have youth, capacity, and firmness; it is the characteristic of a true patriot never to despair. Your noble father, sir, annihilated party; and, I hope you will, in the end, bear down and conquer the hydra of faction, which now rears its hundred heads against you. I remember his saying, that for the good of the people he dared to look the proudest connexions of this country in the face: I trust that the same spirit animates his son: and as he has the same support of the crown, and of the people, I am firmly persuaded that the same success will follow.” But the sentiments which the people of England entertained towards Pitt and his rival were more fully manifested, during, and by, the results of the election. The Pitt candidates were returned on every hand by triumphant majorities, and not less than one hundred and sixty of the old members of opposition lost their seats, and were sent back to private life with the ludicrous appellation of “Fox’s Martyrs.” But it must not be supposed that this result was entirely owing to the popularity of the young premier. The press, that mighty engine for good or evil, had been set to work to undermine the power of the coalition, and lampoons and satires on Fox and North had been printed daily and scattered throughout the country. Moreover, as Pitt had from the first contemplated a dissolution of parliament, every influence which a government could command had been employed in his favour. Finally, the youth of Pitt, and the bold stand he had made against his opponents, had a powerful tendency to gain him the support of the nation. Though inexperienced, men saw in him the future champion of parliamentary reform; and the powerful antagonist of that aristocratic confederacy, against which his father had exerted his talents. The star of Pitt was, in truth, in the ascendant; while that of his rival set in gloom. Fox was returned to parliament, but it was with some difficulty that he obtained a seat. He was a candidate for Westminster, and had a majority on the poll over Sir Cecil Wray, but the high-bailiff, by a scandalous partiality, refused to make a return in his favour. Fox brought an action against the bailiff in the court of king’s bench, and obtained considerable damages; and in the meantime, he secured a seat for the borough of Kirkwall, in Orkney, by which he exposed himself to the ridicule of his enemies as a person banished to the “Ultima Thule.”
GEORGE III. 1784-1786
MEETING OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT.
The meeting of the new parliament took place on the 18th of May. In his speech, the king expressed great satisfaction at meeting the house at this time, after having recurred, in so important a moment, to the sense of his people; and recommended to their most serious consideration the framing of suitable provisions for the good government of our possessions in the East Indies. The addresses in both houses contained strong expressions of gratitude to the king for having dissolved the late parliament; and amendments to omit these expressions, on the ground of unanimity, were negatived by large majorities. The attention of the house was first directed to the conduct of the high-bailiff of Westminister, in refusing to make the return in favour of Fox; and he was directed to attend at the bar of the house to defend his conduct. In his defence, he said, that having ground to suspect the validity of many votes, taken in the course of a poll of six weeks’ duration, he had granted a scrutiny, and that he could not make the return till this scrutiny terminated. Counsel was heard on both sides as to the legality of his conduct; and after long pleadings, it was moved and carried, that “the high-bailiff do proceed in the scrutiny with all possible dispatch,” thereby justifying the unwarrantable step he had taken. The principle of party spirit prevailed over a sense of justice, for the scrutiny of an election is nothing more than a revision of the poll itself, and if such revision cannot be completed before the period at which the writ is returnable, he is bound by his office and oath to make the return agreeably to the poll as actually taken. So the counsel on the side of Fox argued; but the justice of the house was set aside by the spirit of party, if not revenge.