Cha?. The King's negotiation having sailed, the Duke XXVIII. Gf Cumberland was again applied to. His Ma^'T^yT'jesty having resolved to part with his present servants at any rate*, his Royal Highness had ZJ^P^ full power to form an administration The new ministry. * It has been stated, that this resolution was taken in consequence of some expressions which had sallen from the Duke cf Bedford in his Majesty's closet. One writer says, "The "Duke of Bedford continuing in such a behaviour as no private man could have suffered in any one of his inseriors, produced an iastantaneous determination to get rid of such provocations at any rate." Principles of the Changes in 1765, sage 45. Another, and more popular writer, says, "The ministry having endeavoured to exclude the Dowager out of the regency bill, the Earl of Bute determined to dismiss them. Upon this, the Duke of Bedford demanded an audience os the , reproached him in plain terms with duplicity, baseness, falsehood, treachery, and hypocrisy—repeatedly gave him the lye, and left him in convulsions." jfunius's Letters,.the author's own edition, printed by Woods all, volume 1, page 171. the note. And with respect to the particular dismission of Mr. Grenville, another writer has given the following anecdote—" He had been so completely duped, that for some days after his dismission, he had the vanity to believe the court retained a partiality for him;—but when he saw that Mr. Charles jenk'wfon, whom he knew was the confidant of Lord Bute, and whom he had carried to the Duke of Newcastle, and for whom he had obtained a pension, for writing a pamphlet on the seizure of the Dutch vessels in 1757, and who for that, and other obligations, he thought would have followed him out of court when he discovered that Mr. jfenkinfon stayed behind, and that his credit was not diminished at either Carlton house or Buckingham house, he then fatv, what all the world knew before, that he had been the dupe of Lord Bute's agent that the very man, who owed his original recom 1 mendation to him, was the very man who had betrayed him. Perhaps no gentleman ever felt the poignant sting os ingratitude so keenly as Mr. Crcnville did upon that occasion." Faction Unmasked, p. 19. Duke Duke of Newcastle, the Marquis of Rockingbam Chap. and their friends, thought it their duty to accept of his Royal Highnefs's invitation. Gene- 1765. ral Conway was made secretary of state, and to him was committed the management of the House of Commons. ♦ CHAP. XXIX. Chap. XXIX. Afcw Ministry blamed for accepting—Lord Bute's influence not diminished—Their apology—Mr. Pitt's Speech agamjl the American Stamp Act— lie compliments Mr. Burke. Jvir. PITT did not entirely approve of the new ministry's acceptance. And Lord Temple condemned them in terms of acrimony: He said if they had followed the example of Mr. Pitt and himself in resusing the allurements of office, the fnraceept- savourite must have submitted to such conditions )ng' as it might have been thought necessary to impose upon him; which certainly would have been an absolute and total exclusion of him and his friends from every situation and channel of secret communication with the Sovereign: there rr.usl have been an end of all those unhappy suggestions which had already distracted this kingdom and menaced the pervasion of surther misfortunes. This might be called violent language, but it was founded in truth and experience; and although the new ministry wtre rot under the influence os the savourite, yet his influence.was Lord , not diminished ; it might, perhaps, be said to suffer Bute's in flucnce a temporary abatement, or rather it was his own notdimi- policy to suspend the exercise osit, until a more nlshcd- r .. , . lmtatitr suitable opportunity occurred for making ano- Chaf. ther display of his power and versatility. ^-r-^ The new ministry had this apology sairly to of- 1766. fer.—Outos office they were inadequate to theper- Their formance of any service to their country ; but in aPol°gyoffice they might accomplish something, though perhaps not so much as they wished; and undoubtedly they should prevent an increase oraggravation of the public discontents.—These motives were laudable—Gradatim was Mr. Pitt's own word in a former day.—They might reason justly, that in the present unhappy partiality of the King, the constitutional exercise of the powers , of government were to be obtained by degrees, not by hazarding a violent convulsion of the state; to which point some of them seared Lord Temple's inflexibility might possibly extend. When the new ministers entered their new offices, they found that many of their former subalterns were either dead, sequestered in retirement, or allied to the enemy: even the first Lord of the Treasury was at a loss for a private secretary of competent talents. An accomplished Commit is an inestimable character. Mr Fitzherbert, of Tisiington, in Derby shire, a gentleman of unexampled philanthropy and most gentle manners; whose ambition was benevolence, and whose happiness consisted in the administration of kindness, recommended to his Lordship, Mr. Edmund Burke. The British dominions did not furnish a more able and fit person for that confidential important situation. He is " the only man CnAr. man since, the age of Cicero, who has united the x^X- talents of speaking and writing with irresistible I7g- force and elegance." At the fame time, his cousin, Mr. William Burke, of equal diligence, penetration and integrity, was made secretary to General Conivay. These was no private interest courted or gratisied by these appointment's. The merit of the persons was their principal recommendation. Parliament met on the seventeenth of December, in order to issue writs for the vacancies which had been made by the change of the ministry, and then adjourned to the fourteenth of January, 17.66. 1766, for the dispatch of business. On this day the session was opened with a speech from the throne. On the usual motion for an address, the friends ot the new ministry spoke very tenderly of the disturbances raised in America, in opposition to the Stamp Act, terming them only occurrences; which gave great offence to the friends of the late ministry, by whom that act had been passed. Mr. Pitt's Mt. Pitt was impatient to speak on this subject : therespeech sore rose in the early part of the debate. He began againstthe with saying, I came to town but to-day ; I was a stranger Ame1ican to the tenor of his Majesty's speech and the proposed adStamp dress, till I heard them read in this House. Unconnected Act. and unconsulted I have not the means of insormation; I am fearsul of ofsending through mistake, and therefore beg to be indulged with a second reading of the proposed address., The address being read, Mr. Pitt went on: He commended the King's speech, approved of the address in answer, as it decided nothing, every gentleman being left at persect liberty to" take such a part concerning America |