Pitt was beaten at the outset upon a parliamentary question, and again when he presented the bill which he had substituted, for the project planned by his adversaries for the government of India. The council which he proposed was to have no share of the patronage. "My intention is," said he, "to institute a council of political control, in place of a council of political influence." General Conway accused the cabinet of corrupt practices in the country. Pitt interrupted him: "I have the right," said he, "to summon the very honorable General to specify a case where the agents of the ministers have overrun the country, practising corruption. These are assertions that ought not to be made unless one is able to prove them. As for my honor, I intend to remain the only judge of that; I have at least the same advantage over the honorable general that the young Scipio had over the veteran Fabius:Si mulla allia re, modestia certe et temperando linguæ adolescens senem vicero."
A certain dissatisfaction began already to manifest itself among the opposing majority. The violence of Fox had surpassed all bounds; in the opinion of the country, it counterbalanced the recent violence of the king. The young minister gained ground; a proof of his rare disinterestedness had impressed the minds of the people most favorably. Sir Edward Walpole, youngest son of the great minister, had just died. He held the clerkship of Pells, a life sinecure, which was worth £3000 per year. Pitt had no fortune; his friends urged him to appropriate this revenue. The minister refused, and profited by this conjuncture to provide for Col. Barré, who previously had from the Rockingham Ministry a pension of ^3,200. Barré renounced his pension and became clerk of the Pells. "I avow," said Lord Thurlow, some weeks later, in the House of Lords, "I had the baseness to counsel Mr. Pitt to appropriate this office, which had so honorably fallen to him, and I believe that it will not be to my discredit, since so many high in authority have done likewise."Some independent members made advances to Pitt; they had conceived vain projects of conciliation: they failed. A struggle to the death had begun. "The question was," said Dr. Johnson, "who should govern England: the sceptre of George III. or the tongue of Charles Fox?" Two addresses, begging him to dismiss his ministers, were successively sent to the king.
Fox was vanquished in advance, and by his own fault; he had attacked that equilibrium of the Constitution, dear to all good citizens, and to honest men who are not irrevocably bound in the dangerous bonds of party spirit. He threatened to suspend the supplies, and proposed to limit to two months the duration of the mutiny act, usually voted for a year. In vain did he employ, in order to defend his conduct, all the marvellous resources of his eloquence. A great remonstrance to the king, that he had prepared with care, passed by the majority of a single voice. The supply and the mutiny bills were passed without difficulty. "The enemy seems to be upon its back," wrote Pitt to the Duke of Rutland, on the 10th of March, 1784; and to his mother on the 16th, he wrote, "I regard our actual situation as a triumph in comparison with what it was. My joy is doubled by the thought that it extends even to you, and gives you satisfaction."
The moment to make an appeal to the country had finally come. After three months of courageous and bold patience, Pitt counselled the king to dissolve parliament. When the writs of convocation were about to be issued, the great seal had disappeared; it has never been known by whom or for what purpose the theft was committed In twenty-four hours the loss was repaired, as it had been after the flight of King James II., who had thrown his great seal into the Thames.On the 24th of March, 1784, the king presented himself at the House of Lords, and said: "After having well considered the present situation of affairs and the extraordinary circumstances which have produced it, I have decided to put an end to this session of Parliament. I feel that it is my duty towards the Constitution and the country, to make an appeal to the good sense of my people, as soon as possible, by convoking a new Parliament."
Never were elections more enthusiastic, never was success more complete than that of the cabinet. One hundred and sixty friends of Fox lost their seats. His own election at Westminster was for a long time uncertain. Neither his resolution nor his presence of mind deserted him. "The bad news spreads on all sides," wrote he to one of his friends; "but it seems to me that misfortunes, when they crowd in upon us, should have the effect of increasing our courage instead of intimidating it."
The electoral contest was prolonged at Westminster for forty days. The Prince of Wales appeared on the hustings as a partisan of Fox, and the first ladies of the Whig party, the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire at their head, lavished their smiles upon the electors, for their votes. The majority for the great orator was left a matter of doubt; fraudulent practises had, it was charged, been employed, and the High Sheriff Corbet refused to make an official proclamation of the result, without a Parliamentary investigation. Fox was nevertheless assured of a seat. Sir Thomas Dundas had already named him for the borough of Kirkwell, of which he had the disposal.
Before the dissolution, the king had strengthened in the House of Lords the number of the partisans of Mr. Pitt, by three elevations to the peerage; following the elections, he manifested anew his firm resolution to support his minister by creating seven new peers. Henceforth the sovereign and the country were in accord; the opening of the session proved clearly the ascendancy of the minister.
The great financial measures which Pitt had prepared were voted by large majorities: they were new as well as daring. The imposts upon tea and alcohol were lowered, in the hope of destroying contraband trade. New imposts and a new loan, largely offered to the public, re-established the equilibrium of the budget. "However painful may be my task to-day," said the minister, "the necessity of the country forbidding all hesitation, I confide in the good sense and patriotism of the English people. As minister of the finances, I have adopted this motto: To conceal nothing from the public." The bill upon the administration in India passed without great effort, as well as the measure of Dundas for the restitution to the legitimate owners, of all the property confiscated during the rebellion of 1745. The proposition of Alderman Sawbridge for parliamentary reform was rejected. Pitt remained faithful to his convictions: he voted on that occasion with the minority, promising to renew the question himself during the next session.
Parliament met on the 25th of January, 1785. Its first business was to consider the alleged frauds in the election of Fox at Westminster. The constitutional authority was insufficient, and the two parties employed every resource of chicanery. The illustrious adversaries freely made use of reproaches and insults. Fox at this time was large and robust; his black hair always in disorder, yet profusely powdered; cordial and frank with his friends, greatly enjoying life, ever ready for all material or intellectual pleasures, brilliantly and powerfully eloquent, without care or preparation; attacking each adversary in his turn, and solely occupying himself in demolishing him.Pitt's health was delicate; he was tall and slim, a little lofty in his manners as well as in his mind; confiding with his intimate friends, but reserved and cold with most of his partisans. He had from infancy studied the art of eloquence; not that sweeping and impassioned eloquence that distinguished Lord Chatham, and that the illustrious father sought to impart to his young son, as when placing him before him on a table, he cried: "Do you see the scoundrels who are there before you, and who wish to hang you? Defend thyself, William, defend thyself!" The eloquence of Pitt was naturally powerful. Lucid, forcible, convincing, perfect in expression as well as in arrangement, it left in the minds of his contemporaries the impression of an incontestable superiority over the most brilliant orators of his time, over Burke himself as well as over Sheridan.
Pitt was beaten upon the question of the election at Westminster. Lord North and his friends gained an equal victory on the question of parliamentary reform. Moderate and restrained in its application, it attacked nevertheless the principle of close boroughs, and intended to increase the representation of the cities. Fox voted for the measure, although it did not meet his entire approval. The day had not yet arrived when the force of public opinion would compel the members of the House of Commons to vote against their own rights and titles. Pitt felt this, and did not pursue his project. After a brilliant and obstinate discussion, and in consequence of the national and parliamentary jealousies of Ireland, he was also compelled to withdraw the bill regarding commercial intercourse between the two countries.
Fox declared himself the irreconcilable enemy of free exchange. The Irish Parliament was unnecessarily alarmed regarding its legislative independence. "I do not wish to barter English commerce against the slavery of Ireland," said Mr. Grattan, "that is not the price I wish to pay; that is not the merchandise I wish to buy."
The defeat of his liberal measures in favor of Ireland, was a great disappointment to Mr. Pitt: he had just carried, with great success, his bill for the establishment of a sinking fund placed under control of Parliament. At the end of the session of 1786, which is memorable for the opening of the great and celebrated trial of Warren Hastings, the minister was engaged in negotiating a commercial treaty with France. Scarcely had Parliament re-assembled, when the measure was violently attacked. "I do not contend," said Fox, "that France is, and ought to remain, the irreconcilable enemy of England, and that it is impossible to experience a secret desire of living amicably with that kingdom. It is possible, but scarcely probable. I not only doubt her good intentions toward us, at this time, but I do not believe in them. France is naturally the political enemy of Great Britain; in concluding with us a commercial treaty, she wishes to tie our hands, and so prevent us from forming an alliance with any other power."
Pitt judged better and more accurately those international questions which were destined so soon to disturb the peace of the world. In advance, and protesting in the name of eternal justice against the violent struggle that the unloosing of human passions would compel him to sustain against revolutionary France, whether anarchical or absolute, he declared, with indignation, that his mind revolted against the idea that any nation could be the unalterable foe of another; it had no foundation in experience or history; it was a libel on the constitution of political society; and situated as England was, opposite France, it was highly important for the good of the two countries to put an end to that constant enmity that has falsely been said to be the foundation of the true sentiments of the two nations.The treaty, he insisted, tended to improve the facilities for prosecuting war and at the same time also retarded its approach. The treaty was signed, notwithstanding the bitter reproaches of Sir Philip Francis, who accused Pitt of destroying with his hands the work of his illustrious father. "The glory of Lord Chatham is founded on the resistance he made to the united power of the House of Bourbon. The present minister has taken the opposite road to fame, and France, the object of every hostile principle in the policy Lord Chatham's, is thegens amicissimaof his son."
To the difficulties which Mr. Pitt's financial measures encountered, were added the internal embarrassments of the country. The prince was passionately attached to the opposition. He had sustained Fox in his contest against the royal prerogative; with much more reason all his influence had been exerted against the cabinet of Mr. Pitt. The prince, nevertheless, needed the co-operation of the king as well as of the minister. Besides the serious annoyances which his debts cost him, he had aggravated his situation by his secret marriage (December 21st, 1783), with Mrs. Fitzherbert, a young Catholic widow, contrary to the law, which interdicted to princes any union not having the royal assent. The religion of Mrs. Fitzherbert added another difficulty to the situation.
Fox had sincerely and honestly disapproved of the conduct of the prince, and had also warned him that it would be impossible to keep the secret. When his apprehensions were realized, and when pamphlets as well parliamentary allusions, compelled the friends of the prince to speak out. Fox accepted the disagreeable duty of denying a fact of which he had grave doubts."I deny absolutely that there is any truth in this marriage," said he. "It not only would be illegal, but it has never taken place. It is a monstrous calumny, a miserable calumny, a low, malicious falsehood." Do you speak with authority, [he] was asked? "Yes," responded Fox, "with direct authority." The pecuniary affairs of the prince were regulated by the House of Commons; his debts were paid, without discussion. Pitt had obtained, with great difficulty, a message from the king, recommending to the house the request of his son.
Everywhere the same firm and elevated principles, governmental as well as liberal, inspired the conduct of Mr. Pitt. He had voted against the abolition of the test act, demanded by the Dissenters, because he believed the time was not propitious; asserting, however, that he was favorable to the principles of the measure. Pre-occupied by the disgraceful state of the English prisons, he sent to New South Wales an expedition which laid the foundation of the penal colony of Botany Bay. Finally, and above all, he joined his friend, Wilberforce, in his noble efforts for the abolition of the slave trade. Upon this question of humanity and justice, Burke and Fox joined with their illustrious adversary. "I have no scruple in declaring that the slave trade ought to be, not regulated, but abolished," said Mr. Fox. "I have thoroughly studied the question, and I had the intention of presenting some remarks thereupon, but I rejoice to see the matter in the hands of the honorable representative from the county of York, rather than in my own. I sincerely believe it will there have more weight, authority, and, chances of success." Mr. Fox was right in rendering this homage to the pure and disinterested virtue of Wilberforce. In the midst of the brilliant excitements of his life, Fox had neither the leisure nor the ardor of conviction, necessary to undertake and accomplish the charitable and holy work to which Wilberforce and his Christian friends had consecrated their lives.
External troubles for a moment threatened the uncertain peace; the grave dissatisfaction existing between the stadtholder William V., cousin of King George III., and the Dutch patricians, had come to an open rupture, and the Princess of Orange was publicly insulted. Her brother Frederick William II. of Prussia, marched troops upon the territory of the republic. The feeble government of Louis XVI. limited itself to a manifesto in favor of the States-General. England prepared to sustain the stadtholder, but the Prussian soldiers proved sufficient to intimidate the patriots in Holland. The Prince of Orange made a triumphant entry to the Hague; an offensive and defensive alliance was concluded by England with Holland and Prussia. The Czar and the Sultan had taken up arms. The King of Sweden, Gustavus III., invaded Russia. The internal embarrassments and troubles of France prevented her from interfering in any quarrels. England was strong and powerful; she had firmly established her alliances in Europe, and at home the power of Pitt seemed founded upon the strongest basis. Mr. Fox, discouraged, and awaiting better chances of success, departed for Italy. A sad and unexpected event suddenly overturned all hopes and all expectations. After a brief but severe illness, King George III. totally lost his reason.
Already, in his youth, a feeble attack of mental trouble had excited grave fears, and necessitated a project of a regency; the king himself comprehended the import of the symptoms that he felt. On the 3d of November, 1788, during a ride on horseback, he encountered his son the Duke of York, and said to him, sadly: "Would to God that I might die, for I am going to be mad!"
Physicians attributed the malady of the king to an excess of work and royal pre-occupations; his habits had always been regular, his life had been almost patriarchial in its simplicity; his health, nevertheless, was profoundly shattered. Consternation reigned at Windsor. "That which is most to be feared," wrote Pitt to Dr. Tomline, his intimate friend, the Bishop of Lincoln, "is the effect upon his reason. If this lasts long it will lead to a crisis the most difficult and delicate that one can imagine, when it shall be necessary to provide for continuing the government. Some weeks will pass, nevertheless, before it becomes necessary to come to a decision, but the interval will be full of uneasiness." The direction of the royal house had already fallen into the hands of the Prince of Wales. The physicians could give no opinion upon the duration of the king's malady.
Parliament assembled on the 20th of November. Pitt, solely occupied with the interests of the country, desired to restrain the regency by legislative authority. Chancellor Thurlow, however, was intriguing secretly with the Prince of Wales and the opposition, to retain his position, recently promised by Fox to Lord Loughborough, who had suggested to the Prince the bold project of seizing the regency. Fox's return from Italy was anxiously awaited. When he arrived at London, on the 24th of November, the houses were prorogued to the 14th of December. Proudly silent upon the perfidious maneuvres of his colleague, Pitt addressed no reproaches to Lord Thurlow, but he confided the direction of the House of Lords to the venerable Lord Camden. Fox energetically opposed the suggestions of Lord Loughborough, regretting that he was constrained to break his word. "I have swallowed the pill," wrote he to Sheridan; "it was very bitter, and I have written to Lord Loughborough, who will not naturally respond by consenting. What remains to be done? Is it the prince in person, or you, or I, who shall speak to the chancellor? I do not remember ever in all my life of having felt so ill at ease regarding a political affair."
The king had been taken to Kew, very much against his will. The chancellor and Mr. Pitt went there to see him. Miss Burney, the author, and one of the ladies of honor of the queen, reports that: "the chancellor came into the king's presence, with the same trepidation that he inspired in others; and when he quitted the king he was so overcome by the state of his royal master and patron, that tears ran down his cheeks, and he had great difficulty in supporting himself. Mr. Pitt was more calm, but expressed his grief with so much respect and affection that the universal admiration here felt towards him was increased."
When the houses re-assembled, Mr. Pitt presented the report of the physicians; a new doctor, Mr. Willis, gave more hope of a speedy cure than his associates; parliamentary maneuvres extended even to the faculty, and the parties disputed with the doctors. Mr. Fox proposed, from the first, to place the reins of power, without contest, in the hands of the Prince of Wales. Without regard to the supreme authority of parliament in such a matter, he sustained the theory of hereditary right, with an energy so far removed from his ordinary habit, that Mr. Pitt jocosely remarked: "Now I'llunwhigthis gentleman for the rest of his days."
"Imagine the lack of judgment Fox has shown by putting himself and his friends in such an embarrassing position," wrote Wilberforce; "he perceived that what he had said had offended so many people that he was obliged to seize the first favorable occasion to explain and extenuate his words.After this retraction, Sheriden terminated the day by a worse blunder than I have ever seen committed by a man of any intelligence. Since I have been in Parliament the battles have been warm enough, but I do not remember of ever having heard such a tumult as he raised by threatening us with the danger of exciting the Prince of Wales, and urging him to vindicate his rights: these are exactly the expressions used. You comprehend what an advantage all this gives us; above all, when there is joined thereto our great hope of the king's recovery."
The favorable progress in the malady of the King, decided the chancellor to renounce his treachery. When the Duke of York declared in the House of Lords that his eldest brother claimed no rights, but desired to place his authority entirely in the hands of Parliament, Lord Thurlow, quitting the wool-sack, followed him, protesting his inviolable attachment and fidelity to the sovereign who had governed England for twenty-seven years with the most religious respect for its Constitution. He was moved by his own words, troubled perhaps, by the recollection of his secret perfidy, and finally concluded: "If ever I forget my king, may God forget me!" A murmur of disgust followed: the intrigues of the chancellor were well known. Pitt rushed precipitately from the hall, his heart bursting with contempt. "Oh the wretch! the wretch!" repeated he loudly.
The resolutions proposed by Pitt recognized the exclusive right of Parliament to confer the regency. In an ardent and eloquent address, Fox sustained the pretensions of the Prince of Wales, declaring that Pitt would never have thought of limiting his power if he had not felt that he did not merit the prince's confidence, and that he would never be minister."With regard to my feeling myself unworthy of the confidence of the Prince," said Pitt, "all that I am able to say is that there is only one way for me, or any other, to merit it; that is to do what I have done by seeking constantly in the public service to do my duty towards the king, his father, and towards the entire country. If by seeking to merit thus the confidence of the prince, he finds that I have lost it, in fact; however painful and disagreeable this circumstance may be for me, I should regret it; but I say boldly that it would be impossible to repent of it."
The Regency Bill contained grave restrictions to the power of the Prince of Wales. The queen had charge of the person of the king, and the prince had no authority to dispose of the royal property. He was not permitted to grant the reversion of any office, nor any pension or place without the consent of his majesty. The prince was passionately irritated, and responded to the communication of the minister, by a letter, that Burke had dictated, as firm and clever as it was eloquent. Mr. Pitt remained firm. The public were aware of the animosity that existed between the minister, still powerful, the foolish king, and that parliamentary and princely opposition which appeared upon the point of seizing the power. The friends of Pitt, realizing the sad condition of his financial affairs, preoccupied themselves to relieve the same. A meeting of bankers and merchants offered to Mr. Pitt a gift of £100,000, raised by subscription, in the city London, within twenty-four hours. He refused, without hesitation. The situation was prolonged. The minister sought occasion for delay; for each day the king's health improved. The five propositions of the Regency Bill had been voted by the House of Commons, and the third reading was announced in the House of Lords. Dr. Willis informed Mr. Pitt and the chancellor that the convalescence of the king might be announced.On the 17th of February 1789, the minister wrote to his mother: "You have seen that for several days the news from Kew improves; the public bulletin this morning says the king continues to improve in his convalescence. The particular news is that according to all appearances he looks perfectly well, and that if he continues to act sanely, they will at once declare him cured. It remains for us to wait and see how he will support the state in which he will find public affairs. But considering these circumstances, the Bill will probably be adjourned, in the House of Commons, until Monday; and if our hopes are then realized, the project of the regency will probably be modified so as to apply to an extremely short interval, or perhaps be entirely set aside. This news will afford you sufficient pleasure to pardon the brevity of my letter."
Four days later, the king renewed with Mr. Pitt that correspondence, somewhat formal, but nevertheless, cordial and kindly, which reflects so much honor on both the sovereign and the minister.
On the 23rd of February, 1789, George III. wrote to Mr. Pitt:
"It is with infinite satisfaction that I renew my correspondence with Mr. Pitt, by acquainting him with my having seen the Prince of Wales and my second son. Care was taken that the conversation should be general and cordial. They seemed perfectly satisfied. I chose the meeting should be in the queen's apartment, that all parties might have that caution, which, at the present hour, could but be judicious. I desire Mr. Pitt will confer with the Lord Chancellor, that any steps which may be necessary for raising the annual supplies, or any measures that the interests of the nation may require, should not be unnecessarily delayed; for I feel the warmest gratitude for the support and anxiety shown by the nation at large during my tedious illness, which I should ill requite if I did not wish to prevent any further delay in those public measures which it may be necessary to bring forward this year; though I must decline entering into a pressure of business, and, indeed, for the rest of my life, shall expect others to fulfil the duties of their employments, and only keep that superintending eye which can be effected without labor or fatigue."I am anxious to see Mr. Pitt any hour that may suit him to-morrow morning, as his constant attachment to my interest and that of the public, which are inseparable, must ever place him in the most advantageous light.
G. R."
The power now fell into the eager hands of the Prince of Wales and his friends. The people were as demonstrative in their joy as they had been in their anxiety for the king. The popularity and authority of Pitt were at their height: he was master of the entire country, as well as of the House of Commons; the elections of 1790 clearly proved this.
Only prudent and far-seeing statesmen turned their attention to the internal state of France. The mass of the English nation had not, as yet, felt that electric influence that our country has always exercised over her neighbors, for the happiness or misfortune of Europe. Already the diverging tendencies manifested themselves among minds which had up to this time felt powerfully the same impressions and followed the same direction. After the taking of the Bastile, Fox wrote with transport: "How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world, and how much the best!" Burke, on the contrary, wrote to one of his friends: "You hope that I hold the French worthy of liberty; assuredly, I believe that all men who desire it, merit it. It is not the recompense of our virtues nor the result of our labor. It is our heritage. We have a right to it from our birth; but when liberty is separated from justice, neither one nor the other appear to be safe."
Some weeks later, at the opening of Parliament, Burke allowed himself to be carried away by his prejudices to a gloomy and severe review of the beginning of the French Revolution. "Since the house has been prorogued," said he, "there has been much work done in France. The French have shown themselves the ablest architects of ruin that have appeared in the world: in one short summer they have completely pulled down their monarchy, their church, their nobility, their law, their army and their revenue. They have done their business for us as rivals in a way in which twenty Ramillies and Blenheims could never have done. Were we absolute conquerors, with France prostrate at our feet, we should blush to impose on them terms so destructive to their national consequence as the durance they have imposed on themselves."
Pitt did not join in the joyous enthusiasm of Fox, regarding the first and tumultuous efforts of the National Assembly and the French people; still less did he abandon himself to the gloomy forebodings of Burke. "The convulsions which now agitate France," said he, "will lead one day or another to general harmony and regular order; and although this situation will render France more formidable, it will perhaps render her less dangerous as a neighbor. I desire the re-establishment of tranquillity in that country, although it seems to me as yet far removed. When her system shall be re-established, and that system proclaims liberty, well defined, the liberty proceeding from order and good government, France will become one of the most brilliant powers of the world. I am unable to regard with distrust, those tendencies in neighboring states that so closely resemble the sentiments which characterize the English people."
The excesses and disorders of revolutionary passions, which were soon to threaten Europe with a vast conflagration, turned Mr. Pitt from his benevolent views. He was reproached, when subsequently he was compelled to struggle against the revolution, both at home and abroad, for not being inclined to the violences of Burke. It was his glory always to choose that difficult path, alone worthy of men called by God to govern their fellow creatures, that path which remains equally distant from either extreme, and which resists the excesses of liberty as well as the arbitrary tendencies of absolutism. In England, Mr. Pitt repressed both the revolutionary passions and the tendencies to despotism; upon the Continent, in his efforts against the contagious violence of France, he branded as infamous the frenzy of the Reign of Terror, and he protected the threatened European governments, as he subsequently defended the national liberties, against the encroachments and ambitions of absolute power.
The disagreement existing between the two chiefs of the opposition first publicly manifested itself upon the presentation, by Mr. Pitt, of a bill regarding the internal administration of Canada. The state of France occupied all minds; allusions to France entered into all discussions. Some expressions used by Fox had wounded Burke: he resolved to publicly define his position. Fox was informed of this intention; he went to the house of Burke, praying him to delay, at least, before commencing hostilities. Burke, for the last time, entered the House of Commons arm in arm with Fox. The entire opposition were uneasy and excited; they attempted to prevent the discussion by recalling the orators to the affairs of Canada.Burke would not permit himself to be turned aside: he immediately attacked Mr. Fox for the fatal counsels he had given to England; and suppressing the title of friend that he was accustomed to give "that very honorable member," he said: "Certainly, it is indiscreet at any period, but especially at my time of life, to provoke enemies or give my friends occasion to desert me; yet if my firm and steady adherence to the British Constitution place me in such a dilemma, I am ready to risk all, and with my last words to exclaim—'Fly from the French Constitution!'" Fox here whispered that there was "no loss of friendship." "Yes," solemnly exclaimed Burke, "I regret to say there is. I know the value of my line of conduct. I have indeed made a great sacrifice. I have done my duty, though I have lost my friend. There is something in the accursed French Revolution, which envenoms everything it touches."
Burke seated himself. When Fox rose to respond, he remained, for some moments, standing, unable to speak. The tears ran down his cheeks. The whole house was moved like himself. When he found words to reply, it was with touching tenderness, that he spoke of "the very honorable member, but lately his most intimate friend." He declared that he had ever felt the highest veneration for the judgment of his honorable friend, by whom he had been instructed more than by all other men and books together; by whom he had been taught to love our Constitution; from whom he had acquired nearly all his political knowledge, certainly all that he most valued; and that the separation would be most grievous to him to the end of his life. He was nevertheless firm in his belief that "the new Constitution of France, considered altogether, was the most stupendous and glorious edifice of liberty which had been erected on the foundation of human integrity in any time or country." The ancient despotism had disappeared, and the new system had for its object the happiness of the people. Upon this ground he would continue to stand.
Some hasty words of Burke confirmed the rupture. Fox did not continue the discussion; but a friendship of twenty-five years, cemented by their united efforts in behalf of American liberty, sank beneath the waves of the French Revolution, to the grief and amazement of the representatives of the English nation. Separated from his former friends, Burke formed no new ties: sometimes passionate and exalted, always loyal and sincere, he had sacrificed all to his conscience. With the progress of events in France, a certain number of Whigs embraced the opinions that Burke had proclaimed at the outset; when the phalanx formed behind him, he continued to march with a firm step at the head of the resistance. "We have made many enemies here, and no friends, by the part we have taken," wrote Burke, regarding himself and his son, to the agent of the French emigrants; "in order to serve you we have associated with those with whom we have no natural affiliations. We have left our business, we have broken our engagements. For one mortification that you have suffered, we have endured twenty. But the cause of humanity demands it."
The disturbances in Europe began to have some effect in England, and even in Parliament; a momentary disagreement with Spain was terminated in a satisfactory manner, but the persistent hostilities between Russia and the Porte appeared to necessitate an increase of the naval forces. Mr. Pitt presented a bill to this effect, which was coldly received by the house. He withdrew it in time to avoid a defeat, not however without a decrease of his renown at home and abroad.Notwithstanding the growing apprehensions of the friends of France, and the anxiety that the situation of King Louis XVI. inspired, Pitt resolutely maintained the neutrality of England. When the declaration of Pilnitz, signed by the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia, appealed to all the sovereigns of Europe to aid the King of France, by arms, if necessary, England remained deaf to the appeal. Pitt refused to lend to the emigre princes the funds necessary for their military operations.
In the address from the throne, on the 31st of January, 1792, George III. expressed the firm hope of seeing peace maintained; he even counselled a diminution of the land and naval forces. With an assurance more bold than prudent, Pitt announced in his Budget, a progressive reduction of the taxes. He said, that though he was aware of the many contingencies which, by disturbing the public tranquillity, might prevent such a design, yet there never was a time, in the history of this country, when, from the situation of Europe, fifteen years of peace might more reasonably be expected, than at the present moment. Still occupied exclusively with internal questions, Pitt sustained, energetically, the bill for the abolition of the slave trade, proposed anew by Wilberforce and his friends; he regulated the legislation regarding the press, henceforth relegated to the jurisdiction of a jury; finally, he presented a bill regarding loans.
Since the illness of the king, and the treachery he had meditated, Lord Thurlow had remained secretly hostile to Pitt. On the 15th of May, 1792, he vehemently and unexpectedly attacked the financial bill, declaring that it was absurd to pretend to dictate to future parliaments and to proscribe to future ministers a line of action.
"None," said his lordship, "but a novice, a sycophant, a mere reptile of a minister, would allow this act to prevent him doing what, in his own judgment, circumstances might require at the time; and a change in the situation of the country might render that which is proper at one time, inapplicable at another: in short, the scheme is nugatory and impracticable; the inaptness of the project is only equalled by the vanity of the attempt." Pitt finally lost all patience: he declared to the king that it was impossible for him to continue to sit in the same cabinet with Lord Thurlow. George III. did not hesitate; the chancellor was ordered to deliver up the great seal to his majesty. Some months later Lord Loughborough, who had become ardently favorable to the minister, since the fall of Thurlow, was made chancellor (January, 1793).
Mr. Pitt was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports, a rich sinecure long held by Lord North, and now, upon the death of that nobleman, conferred upon the minister by the king. "I will not receive any recommendations for this office," wrote the king, "having resolved to confer it only upon Mr. Pitt;" and when he sent his letter to Mr. Dundas, charged to forward it to Pitt, then absent, George III. added: "Mr. Dundas is to forward my letter to the West, and to accompany it with a few lines, expressing that I will not admit of this favor being denied. I desire Lord Chatham may also write, and that Mr. Dundas will take the first opportunity of acquainting Lord Grenville of the step I have taken." The office was worth £3,000 per year. For the first time Pitt consented to accept the favor which was thus imposed upon him by his sovereign.
Pitt was now seriously occupied with the state of Europe. The King of Sweden, Gustavus III., had been assassinated at a masked ball; the Emperor Leopold was dead; his son, the Emperor Francis, in concert with the King of Prussia, declared war against France. The position of Louis XVI. became each day more precarious.Tossed about without hope, at one time contemplating impossible resistance, at another, useless concessions, he had, on the 20th of June, 1792, endured the insults and outrages of the Parisian populace. The allied troops, under the Duke of Brunswick, had already entered French territory. The princes of the House of Bourbon, at the head of the emigré's, prepared themselves to sustain the operations of the foreigners; an ill-timed manifesto excited still further the passions of the French. On the 10th of August, 1792, the palace of the Tuilleries was attacked, and the Swiss guards massacred. The king, suspended from his royal functions, was confined in the Temple, with his family; the convention was convoked, and the prisoners in the dungeons of Paris were murdered.
Amidst the chaos which reigned in Paris, La Fayette, who commanded a French army upon the frontier, could not resolve to defend a state of things each day more contrary to his presumptuous expectations; he secretly quitted his command, intending to fly to America. He was arrested by the allies and put in prison at Olmutz. General Dumouriez fought the allied army at Jemappes, on the 6th of November, 1792. Kellerman had defeated them at Valmy on the 20th of September; the allied troops evacuated French territory, and the French army entered Belgium. Savoy was already in the hands of the French troops, and General Custine advanced into Germany. By its decree of the 19th of November, the Convention declared, in the name of the French nation, that they would grant succor and fraternity to every people who desire to obtain liberty.
Before this supreme disregard of ancient rights and international conventions, Mr. Pitt, still favorable to preserving neutrality, was nevertheless alarmed at the threatened fate of Holland. He wrote to his colleague, the Marquis of Stafford, that the strange and unfortunate events which have succeeded each other so rapidly upon the continent, give us ample material for serious reflection. That which is most urgent is the situation of Holland. However painful it may be to see this country engaged, it seemed impossible to him, to hesitate upon the question of sustaining our ally in case of necessity; and the explicit declaration of our sentiments is the best way to avoid this situation at present. Perhaps some opening would present itself which would allow us to contribute to the termination of the war between the different powers of Europe, by leaving France to arrange her internal affairs as well as she could; which was, he thought, the best plan. The trial of Louis XVI. had already commenced.
Pitt yet clung to the hope of an impossible peace; already Lord Gower, the English Ambassador at Paris, had been recalled; Chauvelin and his clever secretary Talleyrand, were in London, but not as yet in any official capacity. Chauvelin was about to present his credentials in the name of the French Republic, when the condemnation and death of Louis XVI. abruptly terminated the relations which still existed between revolutionary France and monarchical countries.
On the day following (January 21st, 1793), almost all England went into mourning, and Chauvelin received his passports. An order of recall had already been sent him from Paris. On the 1st of February the Convention declared war against Holland. The terrible burden of the defence of Europe against the advance of the arms and doctrines of the French Revolution was to fall principally upon England, and the sagacious minister who directed her policy. The reverses which his country was to experience, and the obstacles which she was to overcome, saddened the latter part of the life of Mr. Pitt, and partly obscured his glory.The principles which he advocated were nevertheless true and eternal, and the services that he rendered to preserve the peace and equilibrium of Europe were incomparable. He succumbed beneath the weight of a struggle, the obstinacy of which was not foreseen by Lord Chatham during his triumphs in 1760; by his courageous persistence he prepared the way for the victories of Wellington. His name, but recently reviled by so many tongues upon the continent, and even in his own country, has remained the foremost among those who have sustained the cause of independence and of the liberty of nations in Europe. He has alone had the signal honor to maintain England within the bounds of constitutional order during the midst of revolutionary tempests, and the still greater glory of leaving her free.
It was not without much effort and severe internal struggles, that the English government succeeded in preserving order and repressing the dangerous tendencies which manifested themselves upon divers occasions. During many years past, societies favorable to the principles of the French revolution, destined to spread its doctrines and create sympathies for its enthusiasts, had been formed. Two foreigners. Dr. Joseph Priestley, the chief of the English Unitarians, and Thomas Paine, the celebrated author of "The Rights of Man," had been elected members of the National Convention. The latter had taken his seat there. The license of the revolutionary press surpassed all bounds; the declarations and anarchical appeals engendered conspiracies as culpable as powerless. Mr. Pitt used severe measures to repress these. He was urged on by the chancellor, Lord Loughborough, himself a recent and zealous convert. The charges and trials against the press were numerous, and were more violent in Scotland than in England, where the revolutionary maneuvres were less bold.The trials of Muir, and of Palmer, in 1793, and that of Hamilton Rowan in Ireland, in 1794, preceded that of Walker at Manchester, in April, 1794, and of Thomas Hardy, of Daniel Adams, and of John Horne-Tooke at London, in the month of May of the same year. The accused were at the head of the two principal revolutionary societies: "The Society for Constitutional Information" and "The London Corresponding Society." Mr. Pitt proposed to Parliament the suspension of the habeas corpus; in spite of the vigorous opposition of Fox and Sheridan, the bill was passed by a large majority. Public opinion was powerfully aroused against the excesses and crimes which deluged France with blood. The exaggerated fright which the intrigues of the English revolutionists caused, increased the agitation, and in consequence the rigors of the government were approved by public opinion. In Parliament the Whigs were divided. The Duke of Portland and his friends openly sustained the minister.
General Dumouriez had vainly endeavored to resist the power of the Convention. He had formed culpable relations with the enemies of France. Obliged to quit his army, he had taken refuge in England at the moment when his friends the Girondins were overthrown and destroyed by the Jacobins, in Paris. The Committee of Public Safety reigned in France, and the Reign of Terror extended its sombre veil throughout that unhappy country. The allied forces took possession of Belgium; the French garrison at Mayence had just surrendered, after a brave resistance; the Austrians had seized Valenciennes and Condé, not in the name of the young captive king, but as personal conquests of the Emperor Francis. The national enthusiasm of France, violently excited by these reverses, sent to the frontiers troops barely disciplined, generals of various origin, servants of the ancient régime or new geniuses which rose suddenly from the ranks, but all equally animated by an ardent patriotism.The Duke of York was repulsed before Dunkirk by General Hoche, as the Prince of Orange at Hondschoote. The Prince of Coburg, whose name is always found united with that of Pitt, in revolutionary execrations, found himself constrained to raise the siege of Maubeuge, and to recross the Sambre. In the interior, civil war desolated Vendée; it ravished the city of Lyons. Toulon, held in the name of Louis XVII., had called to its aid the English fleet under Admiral Howe. The siege was eagerly pushed by the republican troops. The artillery was commanded by a young Corsican officer, who was soon to become General Bonaparte, and ten years later the Emperor Napoleon. On the 18th of December, 1793, the redoubts were taken, and the allied forces were compelled to put to sea. The English and Spanish vessels were crowded with provincial royalists who fled the vengeance of their compatriots. Toulon was delivered to fire and sword.
The National Convention voted, at the instigation of Barère, a decree ordaining that henceforth no quarter should be given to either English or Hanoverian soldiers. The Duke of York immediately published an order of the day—dignified and noble: "His Royal Highness foresees the indignation which will naturally be aroused in the minds of the brave troops whom he addresses. He desires to remind them that mercy to the vanquished is the brightest gem in the soldier's character; and to exhort them not to suffer their resentment to lead them to any precipitate act of cruelty, which may sully the reputation they have acquired in the world. The English and Hanoverian armies are not willing to believe that the French nation, even in its present blindness, can so far forget its military instincts as to pay the least attention to a decree as injurious to the troops, as disgraceful to those who voted it."The French army justified this noble confidence. "Kill our prisoners!" said a sergeant, "no, no, not that! Send them all to the Convention, that the representatives may shoot them if they wish; the savages might also eat them, if they chose." Everywhere in Flanders the success of the French arms was brilliant; Brussels was retaken. Nevertheless Corsica revolted and was annexed to Great Britain.
Admiral Howe, on the 1st of June, 1794, gained a great victory over the French fleet off the harbor of Brest. The bloody fall of Robespierre and his friends, raised, for a moment, pacific hopes in Europe; but the "war spirit" of France was not yet appeased. General Jourdan drove back the Austrians beyond the Rhine. Pichegru threatened Holland. Mr. Pitt advised placing the entire military force of that country under a single commander; this position was offered to the Duke of Brunswick, who refused it. Upon the entreaties of Mr. Pitt, and much to his regret, George III. recalled the young and inexperienced Duke of York. Before the end of January, 1795, Holland was entirely in the hands of the French, who proclaimed the Republic. The stadtholder had fled to England.
The disquietude and agitation were great. Upon the question of war, Wilberforce and his friends had separated themselves from the Cabinet. The general distress in Europe was extreme. The public cry in London, as in Paris, was for Bread, Bread, Bread! Riots took place in many localities; the windows of Mr. Pitt, in Downing street, were broken, and the revolutionary intrigues redoubled their ardor. The Society for Constitutional Information raised its head, and claimed universal suffrage and annual parliaments. Mr. Pitt was troubled; his gloomy forebodings, at times, knew no bounds. "If I resign," said he, one day to Lord Mornington, "in less than six months I will not have a head upon my shoulders."