Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Second, Volume 2 (of 3)

by Horace Walpole

DUKE OF BEDFORD.
London, Henry Colburn, 1846.

With more sincerity the little band of patriots disposed themselves to fill the conquered provinces: yet so few of them were in Parliament, and so many had difficulties of being re-chosen, that it almost promised to be an Administration out of Parliament. Fox even skirmished his borough from Dr. Hay, one of the new Admiralty; and had others been as desperate, would have opposed most of them on their re-elections. Pitt himself was distressed; and he, who had lately so warmly attacked the Duke of Newcastle from the seat which he held by one of that Duke’s boroughs, could not propose to his Grace to re-elect him, when rising on his ruins. But a little parliamentary craft of shifting boroughs, adjusted this: though Newcastle vaunted that he would show both Pitt and Fox that the Parliament was his.

The Duke of Bedford for some time impeded the entire arrangement, by warmly refusing to take Ireland. Yet he too at last was mollified, after having, as was his way, declared himself with violence enough to show, that if he changed afterwards, it was by the influence of others. Fox had gone to Woburn to persuade him;—in vain: yet, returning, and indeed, knowing what advocates he left behind, ventured (lest that kingdom should be given up before Bedford was brought to a proper temper) to assure the Duke of Devonshire that Bedford would accept the Lord-Lieutenancy.

When all was adjusted, the Duke of Newcastle resigned, Nov. 11th. As he retired without terrors and with parade, it was easy to penetrate his hopes of returning to Court. It was assiduously propagated in all the public papers, that he departed without place or pension; and his enormous estate, which he had sunk from thirty to thirteen thousand pounds a year, by every ostentatious vanity, and on every womanish panic, between cooks, mobs, and apothecaries, was now represented by his tools as wasted in the cause of the Government. To show how unrewarded he chose to relinquish the Administration, this was the catalogue of his disinterestedness. His Dukedom was entailed on his nephew, Lord Lincoln; the only one[70] conferred by George the Second. Another nephew, Mr. Shelley, had the reversion of the Pipe Office. His cousin, young T. Pelham, already of the Board of Trade, got another reversion in the Custom House. His creature, Sir George Lyttelton, was indemnified with a Peerage. His secretary, Mr. West, was rewarded with a reversion for himself and son. Jones, a favourite clerk, and nephew of the Chancellor, had another reversion. An Irish Earldom was given to Mr. O’Brien.

All this being granted, his Grace retired to Claremont, where, for about a fortnight, he played at being a country gentleman. Guns and green frocks were bought, and at past sixty, he affected to turn sportsman; but getting wet in his feet, he hurried back to London in a fright, and his country was once more blessed with his assistance.

Newcastle’s resignation was on the 19th followed by that of the Chancellor. Great endeavours had been used to retain him, or to engage Murray to succeed him; but what terrified or disgusted the former could have no temptation to the latter, who was equally a friend to Newcastle, was by no means equally ambitious, was more timorous, and still less disposed to serve with Pitt alone. Fatigue determined the scale with Lord Hardwicke, which power and profit would have kept suspended. The Great Seal was given in Commission to Lord Chief Justice Willes, Judge Wilmot, and Baron Smyth. Wilmot was much attached to Legge, and a man of great vivacity of parts. He loved hunting and wine, and not his profession. He had been an admired Pleader, before the House of Commons, but being reprimanded on the contested election for Wareham with great haughtiness by Pitt, who told him he had brought thither the pertness of his profession, and being prohibited by the Speaker from making a reply, he flung down his brief in a passion, and never would return to plead there any more. Fox procured the place of Attorney-General for Henley; the Comptroller’s staff for Mr. Edgecombe; the band of Pensioners and Treasurership of the Household for Lord Berkeley of Stratton, and Lord Bateman; an English Barony for Lord Hilsborough; and asked another for his own wife and son—too ambitious a declaration of the figure he still intended to make in the House of Commons. But this was with great indignation refused; and the King, who knew how little he should displease by it, abused him in very undignified terms to the Duke of Grafton, saying, “He now wants to set his dirty shoe on my neck.”

Lord Sandys was again shuffled to the top of the wheel, as Doddington was again to the bottom; the former being raised to Speaker of the House of Lords, the latter dismissed, with Lord Darlington, and a few others. Pitt’s list was confined to this small number: himself, Legge, and Lord Temple have been mentioned. George Grenville succeeded Doddington as Treasurer of the Navy; James Grenville, a Lord of the Treasury; Potter, a joint Paymaster of Ireland; Sir Richard Lyttelton had the Jewel-office; Martin, Secretary of the Treasury; the Admirals West and Forbes, with Dr. Hay, Elliot, and Hunter, were put into the Admiralty; John Pitt was made Surveyor of the Roads, and Charles Townshend, Treasurer of the Chambers. At the same time, Garters were given to the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Carlisle, Lord Northumberland, and Lord Hertford. A Red-Riband and an Irish Peerage to old Blakeney, who went to Kensington in a hackney-coach, with a foot soldier behind it. As Blakeney had not only lost his government, but was bed-rid while it was losing, these honours were a little ridiculed; but the new Ministers and Admiralty inclining to treat Mr. Byng with less rigour, this step was taken by the old Court to refresh the resentment of the populace. Excepting Lord Temple and Pitt himself, the Cabinet was still engrossed by the adherents of Newcastle and Fox; and little harmony was to be expected, or was designed, from a jumble of three such discordant interests. The invention was Fox’s, who, first of all men, projected to leave his friends in place, to distress his hostile successors. Formerly the dependents of a Minister resigned with affected dignity, or were abruptly dismissed,—pensions and reversions now broke the fall of the few who were disgraced.

Pitt now appeared as First Minister; yet between his haughtiness on the one hand, and the little share he assumed, except in foreign affairs, on the other; with the affected court paid by Fox’s party to the Duke of Devonshire, and with the King’s disposition to communicate himself only to his old servants, all application was made to that Duke, whom the roses of power soon charmed to a forgetfulness of the thorns. Yet the irresolution of his temper, and desire of preventing farther dissensions, made him yield so much to Pitt, that Fox, finding himself no more Minister by his proxy than he was in person, left the town in discontent; but was soon recalled by his friends, who assured him that Pitt could not long maintain his post, both from his ill health and the weakness of his party. From the first hour of his power he was confined with the gout, and remained so during greatest part of the winter; and for accession of strength he had nothing but the partiality[71] of the Tories, who, taking all opportunities of declaring for him, gave great offence; and both his gout and his new friends were topics of unlimited abuse, which was poured on him by Fox’s direction and dependents. A paper war of the most inveterate kind was opened. Two weekly papers, called The Test and Contest, besides occasional pamphlets, were the vehicles of satire. Murphy, a player, wrote the former on behalf of Fox; and Francis, a poetic clergyman, signalized himself on the same side.