Part 17
The whole of these considerations will, I hope, justify me to your Majesty, for a step which I have taken with the utmost reluctance; but which, in conscience and duty, was unavoidable. And I trust that you will not for a moment believe that I could, by such a step, mean to increase those difficulties, which I would relieve with my life; but that my official letter was written under the idea that the new Administration was formed upon principles and characters which I could not approve. But in all contingencies this Government has suffered so materially from the uncertainty of the last eight weeks, and from the necessary delay of several points which have been submitted, and which I think most essential to Government (so much so, that I have been truly importunate respecting them), that I very much fear the general event, and my own personal credit, from consequences which I foresee, but cannot now wholly prevent. But whatever may be my fears, I will not press this consideration till your Majesty's arrangements shall be made, in the hopes that I may then be allowed to retire, particularly if my confidence and good-will cannot (as is too probable) engage me to the support of the new Ministry.
I need not add, that whenever your Majesty's goodness shall relieve me from the situation, I shall quit it with that regret which is the natural result of leaving a great and essential work of Government incomplete, which I had vanity enough to imagine I might, by your Majesty's goodness, be enabled to restore. And with the same vanity I will add, that I had rather that your Majesty should collect the present state of Ireland from any one than from myself.
Suffer me then, Sire, to hope that my system and my conduct have not been unacceptable to you. Suffer me likewise to hope that your Majesty sees the reasons for this resignation, neither founded in personal motives of indolence, disinclination, or inattention to that service which is so truly flattering to me; nor in others more disgraceful, because they would be more prejudicial to your Government. And suffer me to hope that your Majesty sees me yielding to a necessity which I cannot avert, with a heart filled with the most lively emotions of gratitude, respect, and affection. With these feelings, it is my fervent prayer, that your Majesty's wisdom and firmness may save the kingdom from the calamities which must be the consequences of this unprincipled coalition--unprincipled, because they can be bound to no political or moral principles in common. And with these feelings, I shall retire with satisfaction to that obscurity from which your Majesty's great goodness called me, desirous, however, on all occasions to sacrifice every private feeling, which would naturally lead me to indolence and retirement, whenever your Majesty shall call upon me to give you that assistance which every honest man owes to rescue the Government from a system, which will either be disgraceful and dangerous if it comprehends the whole of this faction, or weak and inefficient if it is partial.
Once more, Sire, I entreat your Majesty's pardon for this long detail; in which, however, many very important considerations, which have been suggested by the present situation of Ireland, are necessarily omitted. My reasons for wishing to quit Ireland have been necessarily secret; and possibly your Majesty will not think it for your service that they should be avowed. To your wisdom, and to your justice I submit them; and must once more urge to your Majesty those sentiments of gratitude, affection, and respect, with which it is my pride to subscribe myself,
Sire, Your Majesty's very faithful and devoted subject and servant, N. T.
To this very able and lucid statement His Majesty returned an answer under his own hand; but it is desirable, before we lay that remarkable document before the reader, to trace, through the intervening correspondence, the "lets and hindrances" which in the interim marked the progress of the struggle between His Majesty and the high contracting parties on the other side.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.
Saturday Night, March 18th, 1783.
My dear Brother,
I have just heard that all is off. The King has insisted that the Chancellor should continue, and that Lord Stormont should be Secretary of State, which has been refused on the part of the Duke of Portland and Lord North; and upon this the whole has broke off.
I give you this only as the report of the day; but I believe the negotiation is certainly off. Adieu.
Ever yours, W. W. G.
I write short, as being almost too late for the post.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.
Pall Mall, March 20th, 1783.
My dear Brother,
I have this moment heard from indisputable authority, that the following curious scene has passed. The King saw the Duke of Portland yesterday, and ordered him to bring him an arrangement. In consequence of this, a consultation was held between the heads of the new allies. It was agreed that Fox and Lord North should be the two secretaries, the latter going to the House of Lords. It was also agreed that Lord Stormont should be President, but with a stipulation on the part of Fox that he should not be of the Cabinet. To this Lord North demurred; and upon consulting Lord Stormont, the latter peremptorily refused, telling him that he had explained it differently to him. This Lord North could not deny, but offered Lord Stormont his own terms, if he would agree to anything short of Cabinet. The refusal was persisted in, and Lord North returned to his allies, who were equally peremptory on their part, and so ended the whole negotiation, Lord North refusing to treat any further. The Duke of Portland went to the King and informed him of this, but offered to undertake it separately. The King's answer was, that such an arrangement would be liable to all the objections of weakness, &c., as it would only include one party out of three.
And so ended the treaty of coalition and partition! Coke, of Norfolk, gave notice two days ago, that if nothing was settled by to-morrow he would move an Address. Of course, this will have to be done. My opinion is, that a second offer will be made to Pitt, and that he will accept. I will write again to-morrow if there is anything worth writing. Adieu.
My dearest brother, Ever most affectionately yours, W. W. G.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE
Pall Mall, March 21st, 1783.
My dear Brother,
If you had not some little confidence in my veracity, you would hardly think it possible that I was not imposing upon you when you read my last letter, written at eleven last night, to assure you that everything was quite afloat, and that the _virtuous_ band of men, in whom the country places all her hopes and all her confidence, had made a _patriotic_ stand against Lord Stormont's being of the Cabinet; and when you read this, written only thirteen hours later, to inform you that, within the half-hour, everything is settled between the high contracting
## parties for the following Cabinet:
Duke of Portland _Treasury_. Fox } Lord North } _Secretaries_. Lord Stormont _President_, and of the Cabinet. Lord John Cavendish _Chancellor of the Exchequer_. Lord Keppel _Admiralty_. Lord Carlisle _Privy Seal_.
_All_ the efficient responsible offices having thus been required, and insisted upon to be given to persons who are looked upon to be Whigs; and it having thus been made a _sine qua non_ condition, that all the powers of Government should be _solely vested_ in those who have the advantage of being denominated the friends of the late Lord Rockingham, and this _determination_ having been adhered to, I hope no misrepresentation will be made to you of the basis or purport of the late junction, to which it might perhaps be liable from any _false_ accounts.
Seriously, however, you may depend upon this list having been carried by the Duke of Portland to the King for his approbation. What the answer has been, I know not; but hope it will be acquiesced in, though I think it not quite certain, because you observe that no mention is made in it of the Lord Chancellor, and that consequently the dismissal of Thurlow, and the putting the Seals in commission, are implied.
We shall, however, probably soon know; and when I do, I will send off this, but not before, lest the weathercock should veer once more from the North.
I am going down to the House, and am to dine with Pitt. If I send this letter, adding nothing to it, you may depend upon it that the arrangement is agreed to.
Ever yours, W. W. G.
Six o'clock.
I send this by the post, as nothing further is known. Coke postponed his motion till Monday; and W. Hill gave notice of an amendment to it in the words of Lord Surrey's intended motion last year.
Fox's friends have been holding out for these last four or five days, as a great mark of sincerity, the _determination_ not to act with the Chancellor or Lord Stormont. You see how the last has ended; and as to the first, _nous verrons_.
I should be much obliged to you, if, as soon as your resignation is made known in Ireland, you would speak immediately to Fremantle, to desire him to make an economical reform in my household, leaving only such servants as are absolutely necessary for me. I hope to be over with you soon after the receipt and delivery of your letter.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.
Pall Mall, Saturday, March 22nd, 1783.
My dear Brother,
Next Monday will make exactly five weeks from the first division, during which we have been without any Government in the country; yet I think it very probable that nothing will be settled by that day. The Duke of Portland saw the King yesterday, to carry him the profligate list which I sent you last night. Very contrary to his expectations, though I own not to mine, he did not find that ready acquiescence which he expected, but met with a very cool reception, and was told that the King would consider it. I do not understand that anything has passed to-day, and I cannot help thinking that the King means that nothing should be fixed by Monday, in order that Coke's motion may come on, and the coalition be abandoned to all that resentment which has been raised by an arrangement directly in the teeth of professions and promises not a week old. Yet these are the men who accuse Lord Shelburne of duplicity, without having produced one instance during a six months' Ministry. Think what a situation you would have been in, if you had been induced by the assurances in a certain letter, to have given a favourable answer to the Volunteers, pledging yourself to stay, and had then received a notification of such an arrangement. I still believe that the King will press it upon Pitt. On the turn which things have taken, I own I wish that he would make up his mind for a short time--and the time need be very short indeed--to the arrangement which is proposed to him; but as it is, he certainly has gained a great point in receiving from the Duke of Portland's hands a proposal to make Lord North Secretary of State. I suppose he is to be Foreign Secretary, to conclude the definitive treaty. Do you remember Fox's proposal, when in opposition, to negotiate the peace for Lord North, because he knew that no foreign State would trust those who had, &c., &c. Adieu.
My dear brother, Ever yours, W. W. G.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.
Pall Mall, March 24th, 1783.
My dear Brother,
Since I wrote last, things have again taken a different turn; though I am not sufficiently informed of the particulars of what has passed to say any more than that the King has insisted upon seeing the list of inferior arrangements, which having been declined (obviously from a want of agreement upon the subject), the King wrote a note to the Duke of Portland, which was very decently handed about at Brookes's last night, to say that he would trouble him no further on the subject.
To-day the prevalent report during the whole morning, was, that Pitt had accepted; but when Coke put the question to Pitt in the House of Commons, previous to making his motion, the latter said that he knew of no Administration being formed.
Coke then made his motion, which I enclose to you, as nearly as I can recollect it. Very little opposition was made to it, and it passed without a division, though not without a good deal of conversation on the part of Fox, Lord North, and Pitt. Nothing, however, material passed beyond the old ground of coalition and non-coalition. Pitt's speech was inimitable. McDonald made a speech which was not very pleasant, supposing that Pitt should join the Gowers, as it turned entirely upon an avowal of all his old principles, which he charged Lord North with having abandoned, &c., &c.
I am utterly at a loss as to forming any conjecture, but my wishes are very strong that the King would suffer the new allies to make their arrangements, and try their strength. Adieu.
My dear brother, Ever most affectionately yours, W. W. G.
T. Pitt's daughter is either dying or actually dead, which prevented his attendance. I pity them exceedingly, for no people dote more on their children.
MR. COKE'S MOTION TO ADDRESS HIS MAJESTY.
"That His Majesty will be graciously pleased to take into his serious consideration the distracted state of his kingdom after a long and exhausting war, and will condescend to comply with the wishes of this House, by forming a Government which may be entitled to the confidence of the House, and may have a tendency to put an end to the unhappy divisions of the country."
Two days after the date of this letter, Lord Shelburne, who still nominally held the Seals, formally resigned. The scene at the levee on this occasion, which may be described as _le commencement de la fin_, was not only curious in itself, but helped greatly to increase the perplexity in which these strange transactions plunged even those persons who had the best opportunity of observing them. "I am just come from the levee," says General Cuninghame, writing on the 26th of March: "the Duke of Portland was there, and scarcely spoke to. Lord Shelburne, Mr. Pitt, Lord Howe, and the rest of the Ministers present, were loaded with attention. After the levee, Lord Shelburne resigned in ample form. It is universally understood Mr. Pitt will not undertake. These circumstances put together, puzzle the world more than ever." It was a spectacle in perfect harmony with the unparalleled oscillations of the preceding six weeks to see the retiring Ministers overwhelmed by royal condescension, and the heads of the incoming Administration (for in the extremity to which His Majesty was now reduced there was literally no choice) treated with undisguised aversion.
On the 26th, Mr. Grenville saw the King, and placed in His Majesty's hands the letter Lord Temple had written on his suggestion. There is not a cranny of the negotiations--which still hung, and which now appeared even farther from a conclusion than at the beginning--left unexplored in this luminous Correspondence. It is quite evident that the King resisted the coalition to the utmost extremity, that he tried every available individual, and some even who were not in a position to bring any strength to the Government, before he submitted, and that in the end he submitted only under the compulsion of an overruling necessity.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.
Pall Mall, March, 27th, 1783.
My dear Brother,
I received your letter on Tuesday night so late, that I was not able to take any steps towards delivering its enclosure till yesterday, when Lord Sydney acquainted the King, at my request, with my wish to see him. I went there in the evening. Lord Ashburton was there before me, and had an audience of near two hours. When I went in, I said that you had been highly flattered with his gracious communication, and had been encouraged by it to trouble His Majesty with a detail of your situation, and the circumstances in which you stood. He received it very graciously, saying, that he was infinitely obliged to you for it; that he would take the first moment to look it over, and would certainly answer it, which should pass through my hands, as he had never been more satisfied, &c., &c.
He then entered into a detail of what had passed since I saw him last. This, however, differs so very little, if at all, from what I have before stated to you about the Cabinet which was proposed, and the subordinate arrangement which was refused, and upon which the whole negotiation broke off, and has never since been resumed, that I will not trouble you with it over again. One thing, however, is worth mentioning, of which I was not before apprized, that the King complained of personal incivility from the Duke of Portland.
Since the negotiation with the coalition broke off, the Government has been repeatedly and most eagerly pressed upon Pitt, who has, however, yesterday, once more firmly declined it. What the present intention is, I have scarcely a guess. The King seems as much disinclined as ever to open the negotiation again, and yet I see no resource which he has. He complained much that no one would step forth, and asked me whether I thought Tom Pitt could be worked upon. To this I gave little answer, except my ignorance, &c.; but I believed I might have answered decisively in the negative, as he declined even with William Pitt.
He then entered into a conversation on the subject of Ireland, stating your universal popularity there, and inquiring about different people, particularly Scott. This brought us to the precipitate appointment of the Duke of Portland, and to the insult which had been offered by it to Lord Carlisle, and his astonishment that immediately afterwards he could accept such an office under him.
He mentioned Lord Ely's having applied to be invested in England, and his having desired Lord Sydney to refer the letter to you.
I do not recollect that anything else material passed, except compliments, &c., &c.
I cannot help mentioning to you that you have never written to Lord Sydney, either on his peerage, or your resignation, and that I cannot help thinking that he feels it.
The Irish Bill sleeps in the House of Lords. The Chancellor desired to put it off till something was settled. Lord Abingdon has given notice, in a most ridiculous speech, of his intention to oppose it. I spoke to Townshend yesterday about it, and he promised to appoint some day to-morrow for its being read a second time. They talk here of the Duke of Devonshire for Ireland. He is a respectable man, undoubtedly, and if you except the scale of his talents, which I think inferior to the situation, I know only one objection to the appointment, and that is a capital one.
Pray communicate a little with Mornington about your resignation, &c. It will flatter him; and he is beyond measure disposed to you both in Ireland and _here_, to which he looks in a short time; but you must not let him know I have told you that.
Adieu, my dearest brother, Believe me ever most affectionately yours, W. W. G.
T. Pitt's child is recovering very fast.
The allusion to Lord Mornington (afterwards Marquis Wellesley) is not quite clear. We are left in some doubt as to whether his Lordship looked at this time to office in England, or to the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. His ambition and his genius, however, had ample scope subsequently in India and in Ireland, the Government of which latter country was twice confided to him.
In the next letter Mr. Grenville reports another interview with the King, in which His Majesty expressed his regret at the absence of Lord Temple, to whom, even at the cost of still further delay, and some risk of confusion in Irish affairs, he would still have applied, but for the impediments which the distracted and unnatural state of parties threw in the way of the formation of an honest and independent Administration. Mr. Grenville saw that the attempt to form a Cabinet in the face of such adverse circumstances would be attended with no credit to Lord Temple, or permanent advantage to the King, and judiciously discouraged it. He appears all throughout, from the dawn of the alliance between Fox and Lord North, to have desired that they should be allowed to make the experiment, in which he was confident they would fail.
MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO LORD TEMPLE.
Pall Mall, March 28th, 1783.
Half-past Seven, P.M.
My dear Brother,
I am just returned from the Queen's House, where the King sent for me about two hours ago. When I came into the room, he began the conversation by saying, that although his time was so much occupied in the present hour, he had wished to see me, in order to express how much he had felt upon reading your letter to him; that he had never been more pleased than he had been by that; so much matter in so little space--the whole state of our present situation so justly seen, and so accurately described--in short, he was at a loss to say which appeared to him in the strongest light, the affection which had dictated that letter, or the ability with which it was drawn up.
He expatiated a good deal more on this, and then went on to say, that he was fully convinced that your not having been here at this moment was a very unfortunate circumstance, for that you would have stood forth to assist him. I said I was certain that nothing would have made you so happy as the possibility of being of any service to His Majesty in the present crisis. He answered that he fully believed it, and that the idea had occurred to him this morning of sending for me, to know what I thought of it in the present moment, as there was not time for a communication with you. I told him that there was one very considerable difficulty which struck me upon it--"the distance--besides that, Sire, the finding any person for the House of Commons, where it is most likely that the great push will be made."
This seemed to strike him. He mentioned his having sent yesterday again to Tom Pitt, to endeavour to persuade him to stand forward, and his having declined it. He then went a good deal into T. Pitt's character, speaking very highly of his good sense and integrity, but expressing his doubts whether his health would ever allow him to take any active part; that, however, he had received this satisfaction from his conversation with him, that he had the pleasure of seeing that he approved of the conduct which he had held. He mentioned his having shown him the material letters which had passed, and then took them out of a drawer, and gave them me to read, consisting of four. One from the Duke of Portland, desiring to see the King. The King's note to Lord North, desiring to see the arrangement; and Lord North's answer, enclosing a letter to him from the Duke of Portland, both declining to give in the list.