CHAP. LV. 1783. shocked, by the event*. It was impossible that the violent denunciations of Mr. Fox, aimed at Lord North alike as a minister and a man, styling him the great criminal of the state, demanding his blood as an expiation of his misdeeds, pronouncing it unsafe to be with him alone, and infamous to act with him, could ever be forgotten. Nor was their effect mitigated by declarations that, with the American war, the cause of their disagreement had been removed†. A Latin adage could not, by those who reflected, be made applicable to any thing beyond individual dislikes and personal disputes: these, neither the benevolence of Lord North nor the warm generosity of Mr. Fox would permit to remain rankling in their bosoms, to the disquiet of their private lives, or the interruption of their public utility; but such fierce and solemn public denunciations could not be so easily atoned or cancelled. If Mr. Fox, resenting his dismissal from the treasury, or any other personal slight or injury, expressed himself with his characteristic heat and force against the mi * A fair specimen of this mode of thinking, in men so informed and so principled, is afforded by Dr. Watson, Bishop of Landaff. "From the moment," he says, "this coalition was formed between Lord North and the men who had for many years reprobated, in the strongest terms, his political principles, I lost "all confidence in public men. I had, through life, been a strenuous supporter "of the principles of the Revolution, and had attached myself, in some degree, "to the party which professed to act upon them; but, in their coalescing with "the Tories to turn out Lord Shelburne, they destroyed my opinion of their "disinterestedness and integrity. I clearly saw that they sacrificed their public principles to private pique, and their honour to their ambition. The badness "of the peace, and the supposed danger of trusting power in the hands of Lord "Shelburne, were the reasons publicly given for the necessity of forming the "coalition: personal dislike of him, and a desire to be in power themselves, were, in my judgment, the real ones. The Whig part of the coalition ministry," he proceeds, "forced themselves into the King's service. His ma"jesty had shewn the greatest reluctance to treating with them. Their enemies "said, and their adherents suspected, that if poverty had not pressed hard upon some of them, they would not, for the good of their country, have overlooked "the indignities which had been shewn them by the Court; they would have "declined accepting places, when they perfectly knew that their services were "nacceptable to the King. They did, however, accept; and, on the day they "kissed hands, I told Lord John Cavendish (who had reluctantly joined the coalition) that they had two things against them, the closet and the country; "that the King hated them, and would take the first opportunity of turning them out; and that the coalition would make the country hate them."-Anecdotes of the Life of Richard Watson, Bishop of Landaff, vol. i. p. 170-173. In these latter opinions, although perhaps rather too strongly expressed, the reverend Prelate was correct. The King declared, long afterward, that this was the only administration, during his whole reign, from which he had withheld his confidence. From private information. + Prior's Life of Burke, vol. i. p. 415. nister, a day might come in which placability and returning friendship might be becoming and amiable ; but when the dark brand of political wickedness was so strongly and so frequently impressed, no credit would easily be given to those excuses, which could apply only to personal forgiveness and reconcilement. In fact, Mr. Fox, who took to himself the benefit of this humane adage, had nothing to forgive: the enmity, which for so many years had characterized the debates, was of his own creating: Lord North had never denounced or vituperated him; he had much to forgive, much to cast into oblivion, before he could become the friend of Mr. Fox; he had nothing in the way of amnesty to ask; from him and from the public Mr. Fox had to require every thing. Such was the view taken of this important transaction by parties who examined it from remote and from proximate positions. Nor had the efforts of ministers hitherto tended to conciliate opinions more favorable, or to create in the public a strong predilection in their favour. Lord North could claim no popularity from the origin and conduct of the late war; and Mr. Fox and the Rockingham party had no reason to expect the permanent attachment of the nation, from the tone and manner in which their opposition to it had been conducted. CHAP. LV. 1783. In other respects their proceedings had not been Rodney. satisfactory to the country. Their attacks on Rodney, from the moment his success appeared to revive the naval fame of Great Britain, drooping through previous negligence and misconduct, the time and manner in which they had superseded him, operated greatly to the disadvantage of ministers; nor was their position much ameliorated by Mr. Burke's niggardly and frigid declaration, that, if there was a bald spot on the head of Rodney, he was willing to cover it with laurels. Powell and In another transaction, connected with their own Messrs. professions of economy, they were not less conspicu- Bembridge. ously unfortunate. Two gentlemen, named Powell and Bembridge, had been employed in the Pay-office during the administration of Lord Holland, up to 1765, CHAP. 1783. Jan. 14. March 10. April 24. May 2. 19th. and, on his lordship's decease, one of them, Mr. Powell, officiated as his executor. The noble lord had long been styled, in addresses to the throne, in public speeches, in pamphlets, and other forms of libel, the defaulter of unaccounted millions; and this calumnious phrase, unfounded, or grossly exaggerated, became popular and almost proverbial. On the formation of the Shelburne administration, the accounts rendered by his lordship, from December 1764 to June 1765, were investigated by a Committee of the Privy Council; Mr. Powell and Mr. Bembridge were examined before them, and, in consequence of the disclosures they were obliged to make, a case was submitted to the Attorney and Solicitor-general*, and, in pursuance of their opinion, criminal informations were filedt. Without loss of time, Colonel Barré dismissed them from the office; but Mr. Burke reinstated them. This proceeding, as might be expected, occasioned much animadversion in the House of Commons, where Lord Newenham moved for the production of the treasury minutes on the late investigation; but afterward, understanding that criminal proceedings had been instituted, he proposed to discharge his own order. Several debates took place, in the course of which the reappointment of those gentlemen was, with his characteristic warmth, vindicated by Mr. Burke, and by Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, and some other members, who deprecated as cruel, a demand of papers which would send the accused parties to their trials with a strong prejudice against them, while, as the office was at present regulated, their remaining in it could produce no evil, as balances were no longer permitted to remain in the hands of the paymaster, but were paid into the Bank. On the other hand, Mr. Pitt, Sir Cecil Wray, Mr. Dundas, and Mr. Kenyon, treated as futile the notion that the production of papers could produce any prejudice; and it was urged that, in restoring these two persons to offices from which they had been removed in consequence of such palpable misconduct, * Mr. Kenyon and Mr. Pepper Arden. In Trinity Term, 1783. and, after the opinion of the law officers of the crown, the present paymaster evinced but little regard for decency toward the public. Had they been acquitted, indeed, such a measure had been just and proper; but, for the present, at least, their suspension ought to have been continued. Mr. Burke expatiated on the indispensable usefulness of Messrs. Powell and Bembridge in their office, where, without their aid, the public accounts could not possibly be adjusted; considered them as unfortunate men, whom Providence had cast upon his protection; declared that their restoration was an act entirely his own; one in which he had not so much as consulted with any other minister; and spoke, in animated and pathetic terms, of the impression made on his feelings by the acute misery displayed by one of them, Mr. Powell, at an interview with him: the sight of his grey hairs and the expression of his anguish had so affected him, that he could not without difficulty attend his duty in Parliament; the poor man appeared nearly distracted, and he was almost afraid he would lose his senses. Lord Newenham's motion for discharging his order was carried, but the majority was not triumphant, or even flattering*. 27th. СНАР. LV. 1783. Nov. 10 & 22. Soon was the prediction concerning Mr. Powell May 26th. verified; he violently terminated his own existence, and Mr. Burke, with Mr. Rigby and others, gave such July 18th. evidence as satisfied the coroner's jury of his insanity. The information against Mr. Bembridge was tried in the Court of King's Bench, and, although defended by men of the most prominent ability at the bar, he was found guilty. A motion in arrest of judgment or for a new trial was decided to his disadvantage, and he was sentenced to pay a fine of £2,650, and to be imprisoned six monthst. These were among the subjects which engaged and Opposition. exercised the public mind before the meeting of Parliament, in which an extraordinary and ever-memo 161 to 137. +Howell's State Trials, vol. xxii. p. 1, contains the trial; and much of the information to which my attention has been directed is very ably and judicously collected in the explanatory pages. CHAP. 1783. Mr. Pitt. Notice in India. 1777. May 21st. On Lord Pigot. rable conflict was to take place. In the House of Commons, ministers counted among their ranks the known and powerful names of Lord North, Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, and Mr. Sheridan, with a copious list of able coadjutors. In the opposition were many individuals of known honour and respected ability; but their great leader, he from whom their motions were to receive their impulse, and their proceedings their character, was Mr. Pitt. Although, in early youth, he was looked up to with general expectation, esteemed by the King, honoured by the people, unblemished in character, unassailed by personal or political reproach, revered by his friends, respected by his adversaries, he seemed to stand alone in the conflict of parliamentary hostility; his hand wielded the sword, his arm sustained the shield, which were to assail and to protect in the approaching contest. It was rightly foreseen that the affairs of India transactions in would engage early attention, and much anxiety was felt at the measures likely to be proposed. The discussions concerning transactions in that country were, for several years, confined to the India House. The treatment experienced by Lord Pigot first claimed the attention of Parliament, in consequence of a motion by Governor Johnstone, who, in a Committee of the whole House, proposed several resolutions, which, he said, would, if acceded to, be followed by a bill for better securing our settlements. The debate which ensued is remarkable only as it shewed the opinions of several eminent individuals, in office and in opposition. Mr. Benfield was unsparingly censured; Lord Pigot was crowned with applause; the reparation made to him by the vote of the Company was deemed unsatisfactory, and even nugatory. Much of the treatment experienced by his lordship, abroad and here, was attributed to the intrigues and the incroaching influence of the Nabob of Arcot; a suggestion which Lord North decried, as utterly void of foundation, the Nabob being a needy, miserable, ill-treated, dependent prince, without power, protection, or resources, and incapable of exercising influence, either by means of |
