It was now the 29th of May. From the instant of my arrival I had pressed the Ministers to put an end to the session, and had foretold that they would let it draggle on till it overturned them. All my views tended to prevent their resigning before the Parliament rose, and to keep them in place till the eve of the next session; that if no circumstances should arise in their favour during that interval, they might surprise and distress the King by a sudden resignation, or force him to give them better terms. Should they quit in the present conjuncture, whatever grievances they might allege would be forgotten before six months were elapsed. My prophecy, though founded, was as little regarded as my advice. Late as it was, a new parliamentary business, waited on by new scruples of Mr. Conway, broke forth.
On the death of the late Duke of Cumberland it had been projected to divide his 25,000l. a year between the King’s three brothers, and make up the revenue of each 20,000l. a year. The Ministers, during Mr. Conway’s illness in the country, had consented to carry this through, without acquainting him. When he came to town he vehemently objected to it, as the session was so near its period. The Cavendishes caught the scruple, and infused it into Lord Rockingham, though he had passed his word for it to the King. The Chancellor and Lord Egmont were as eager on the other hand to have the promise performed, and the former had warm words with Conway. The King was much discomposed, and said, unless his brothers would give it up he could not. The Duke of Gloucester, all decency and temper, behaved handsomely; but the Duke of York, instigated by the Bedfords, insisted on what had been promised to him. Lord Rockingham told the King he would keep his word, but would then resign—that was, would keep a promise he had neglected till it was almost too late, but then would resign for having kept it. Mr. Conway said he could not vote for it, but would absent himself from the House. Lord Rockingham repented the instant he had made his declaration, but did not know how to get off. Mr. Conway consulted me on this dilemma, and objected that Mr. Grenville was out of town, thinking the business of the session at an end. “What!” said I, “because you suffered Mr. Grenville to protract the session till he had wearied even himself, is that a reason for the Ministers not performing what they have engaged for? You have just had a signal victory [on the tax], and now will give up all for an idle qualm. For God’s sake satisfy the King and the Princes on this point; but you are so unfit to be Ministers, that I advise you to find some plausible and popular excuse afterwards to resign;” and to that indeed now did my utmost wishes tend. I saw they must fall, and desired only that the pretence might do them credit. At night, however, I hit off an expedient to which I got the concurrence of the Ministers. It was to propose to the King that they should move for a call of the House. That would take up at least a fortnight, and near as much time to go through the bill. He was to be told how unpopular the service was. If he still accepted the call, the question would either be carried in a full House, which would justify the Ministers; or would be lost in a full House, which, besides defeating the measure, would punish the Duke of York, without affording room of censure against the Ministers, as the Opposition would support the Duke; and the question, if lost, would be lost by the defection of the Court’s own majority, to whom the measure was very unpalatable, from the largeness of the designed appanages, and the independence of the Crown which the Princes would acquire. If, on the other hand, the King should refuse to accept the call, the Ministers would be in some degree disculpated from keeping their promise, or would have more grace in resigning. The Ministers went with this proposal to the King, but he had now prevailed on his brother of York to give up the point till the next session, on promise that the half-year’s income, which he would lose by the delay, should be made up to him.
On the 3rd of June Rigby moved that the Parliament should not be prorogued, but kept sitting by short adjournments to wait for news from America. This was easily overruled; and then a message from the Crown was delivered, asking a portion for the Princess Caroline against her marriage with the King of Denmark. Dyson, in opposition to the Ministers (and for a treacherous reason that will presently appear), offered a precedent against taking the message into consideration but in the committee or the next day—a strange disrespect, unless it had been concerted with the King. This occasioned a long debate, and Conway greatly distinguished himself by his spirit and abilities; and Dyson’s motion was rejected by 118 to 35. Next came a message for a settlement on the Princess. Augustus Hervey[259] proposed to amend the address, and to promise to take it into immediate consideration. This, too, was outvoted; and Charles Townshend spoke finely on the occasion, with great encomiums on the Duke of Grafton and Conway.
The next day the Ministers pressed the King to turn out Dyson and Lord Eglinton, who had voted against the tax. His Majesty hesitated, but desired Lord Rockingham to talk to them. Lord Rockingham saw Dyson for an hour, who pretended to be in no opposition, but to dislike measures; and going through them showed he disliked every one of their measures. On this Lord Rockingham again proposed his being turned out, but the King took time to consider.[260] Mr. Conway spoke to me on this. I said, it was plain Lord Bute meant to force them to join him, which made it impossible for them to join him; yet I begged they would not opiniatre those dismissions, as it would not be proper for them to resign on Court intrigues. To resign because men were not turned out would be still less proper in them, who had complained so much of dismissions, though the case was widely different between being persecuted for conscience sake, and dismissing men who would force them to unite with the very arbitrary Ministers they had condemned. They must wait till they were obstructed in some constitutional measure, and then retire.
Lord Hertford[261] was now returned from Ireland, and prevailed on his brother to consent that Mackenzie should be restored to his ancient place, as soon as any settlement could be made to open it for him; and to let Lord Northumberland go ambassador to Paris, if Lord Rochford could be otherwise accommodated. The Duke of Richmond and Lord Rockingham came into this, and it was broken to the King in general terms. “Was there anybody he wished to prefer?” He was on his guard, and replied, “No;” that they might not accuse him of parting with them on their rejection of any of Lord Bute’s creatures. They then again mentioned Dyson and their own weakness; and showed him an intercepted letter of the Russian Minister to his Court, in which he wished his mistress not to conclude too hastily with the present Ministers, who could not maintain their ground: and he pointed out the damage the King brought on his own affairs by having a Ministry who did not enjoy his confidence. This the King denied, and said they had his confidence. For Dyson, he had opposed Princess Caroline’s portion, and his Majesty did not care to remove anybody on his own account (a salvo, as I have said, concerted). Dyson, they replied, opposed and obstructed all measures at the Board of Trade. Still the King would not give him up, but promised he would the next winter, if Dyson did not alter his conduct; but his Majesty had determined to remove the Ministers, not Dyson. Lord Eglinton was next accused of having opposed the tax. “Oh!” said the King, “that is abominable; but Eglinton is angry with me too: he says I have not done enough for him.” They civilly put his Majesty in mind that he had promised, in the middle of the winter, to dismiss opponents on their next default; but the plea was taken, and nothing could be obtained by the Ministers for their satisfaction.
The Chancellor, Lord Northington, disgusted with the dilatoriness and irresolution of the Ministers; and seeing they would neither embrace the Favourite, nor could do without him; and perceiving, too, that the King was determined to suffer them on no other terms than compliance, was alarmed for his own interest; and apprehending that if Mr. Pitt, as was probable he would, became the Minister, Lord Camden would expect the Seals, made a pretence of quarrelling with the Ministers, complaining most untruly that he was not consulted nor summoned on cases,[262] which had not only been submitted to him, but had waited for him and suffered by his delay. All this, however, being but negative, the Chancellor wished to have more positive merit, and accordingly told the King (and possibly had his Majesty’s own orders for telling him so) that this Ministry could not go on, and that his Majesty must send for Mr. Pitt. Whether this meanness was officious, or whether instilled into him, was not certainly known. The motion was at least so acceptable that the Chancellor certainly opened a new negotiation with Mr. Pitt. Lord Bute’s friends asserted solemnly that this treaty, which was kept very secret, was known only to his Majesty, and concluded without the least privity of the Favourite—a tale too improbable to meet with the least credit.
As a signal of what was to ensue, on the 7th of July the Chancellor went in to the King, and declared he would resign; a notification he had not deigned to make to the Ministers, but which he took care they should know, by declaring openly what he had done. When the Ministers saw the King, he said coolly, “Then I must see what I can do.”[263]
The next day the Duke and Mr. Conway came to me in the country to ask my opinion on the present crisis. I said, I believed it was the signal of a change, but as it was yet uncertain whether the Chancellor had acted from self-interested fear, or by concert with the King, the wisest step for the Ministers would be to seize the opportunity, and on Wednesday, the next Court-day, (it being now Monday,) resign their places very civilly on want of the King’s confidence, and recommend to his Majesty to send for Mr. Pitt. This, if the King was not prepared with a Ministry, would greatly distress him; and whether Pitt, or Grenville, or the Bedfords were sent for, they would give harder terms to Lord Bute when at their mercy. That their recommending Pitt might prevent the King’s sending for him; and then nothing would be so odious and unpopular as the Bedford faction united with Bute, while Pitt and the present Ministers should be out of place. That if Pitt did become Minister, he would be hampered by their recommendation; it would hurt his popularity if he did not take them in, and must be an obstacle to his preferring the Bedfords. I added that this recommendation would be entirely consistent with Mr. Conway’s past declarations, which had always been in favour of Mr. Pitt, and would bind the Duke of Grafton more firmly to Conway. This advice was extremely tasted by Mr. Conway, not at all by the Duke, who had no partiality for Mr. Pitt.
The next day the Duke wrote to argue the point with me, and said, Lord Rockingham was still for making Yorke Chancellor, for insisting on the dismission of Dyson, Eglinton, Augustus Hervey, and others, and then for offering the King to make Mr. Mackenzie Vice-treasurer of Ireland. This last (which had already been in effect rejected) the Duke allowed was a very silly plan, but thought Mr. Pitt had treated the Ministers with too much contempt to make it honourable for them to propose him; the Duke even supposed that their not leaving the King in distress would oblige him. Mr. Conway, he said, was determined to follow my advice. I, who had no opinion of his Majesty’s sensibility or gratitude, stuck to what I had said; and warned the Duke to take care that they were not turned out in the cause of Yorke, instead of their own. I advised his Grace to make use of the good news from America, where all was quiet, and to declare that having pacified America, they could now resign without reproach; but the Seals had glimmered in Yorke’s eyes, and I knew he would advise any meanness rather than lose the moment of being Chancellor.
I went to town on Wednesday the 7th, in the afternoon, concluding that Rockingham and Newcastle would have prevailed on Mr. Conway to defer resigning for a day or two. So it had happened, though the Duke of Richmond had been convinced by me that they must resign. But in the morning, when the Ministers had gone in to the King, his Majesty, with the most frank indifference, and without even thanking them for their services, and for having undertaken the Administration at his own earnest solicitation, acquainted them severally that he had sent for Mr. Pitt; and lest this declaration should want a comment, to Newcastle he said, “I have not two faces.” Newcastle replied, “Does your Majesty know if Mr. Pitt will come?” “Yes,” said the King, “I have reason to think he is disposed to come;” and then added, “I wish you all well, particularly Lord Rockingham.” Nothing could be harsher to Newcastle, in whose presence this was uttered. To the Duke of Richmond the King was not tolerably civil; and, in truth, I believe the Seals which I had obtained for his Grace were a mighty ingredient towards the fall of that Administration. To Conway alone his Majesty was gracious, and told him he hoped never to have an Administration of which he should not be one. This looked as if the plan was settled, and that the King knew Mr. Pitt intended to retain Conway, for his Majesty loved him no better than the rest; and at Lord Rochford’s return from Spain had ridiculed Conway’s despatches, and said, he fancied Lord Rochford had had difficulty to know how to act, as they were sometimes warm, sometimes cold. This remark had been furnished by the Chancellor, when the offer made by the King of Spain of taking the King of Prussia for arbitrator on the money due for the ransom of the Manillas, had neither been accepted nor rejected. When the King told Conway he had sent for Pitt, he replied, “Sir, I am glad of it; I always thought it the best thing your Majesty could do. I wish it may answer: Mr. Pitt is a great man; but as nobody is without faults, he is not unexceptionable.”