Delphi Complete Works of William Godwin 1st ed. (2022), page 302
part #1 of Delphi Classics Series
Let it be remembered then, in the first place, that there was no other connexion, sufficiently unquestionable in their sincerity, and of sufficient weight in the senate, with which to form a coalition. The Bedford party, had they even been willing to have taken this step in conjunction with the friends of lord Rockingham, were already stripped of some of their principal and ablest members, by the arts of lord Shelburne. Whether these ought to be considered in sound reason, as more or less obnoxious than lord North, I will not take upon me to determine. Certain I am, that the Scottish connexion were, of all others, the most suspicious in themselves, and the most odious to the people. The only choice then that remained, was that which was made. The only subject for deliberation, was, whether this choice were more or less laudable than, on the other hand, the deserting entirely the interests of their country, and leaving the vessel of the state to the mercy of the winds.
Secondly, I would observe that the principal ground of dispute between lord North and his present colleagues in administration, was done away by the termination of the American war. An impeachment of the noble lord for his past errors was perfectly out of the question. No one was mad enough to expect it. A vein of public spirit, diffusing itself among all ranks of society, is the indispensible concomitant of impeachments and attainder. And such a temper, I apprehend, will not be suspected to be characteristic of the age in which we live. But were it otherwise, the Rockingham connexion certainly never stood in the way of an impeachment, had it been meditated. And, exclusive of this question, I know of no objection, that applies particular to the noble lord, in contradistinction to any of the other parties into which we are divided.
But, in the third place, the terms upon which the coalition was made, form a most important article of consideration in estimating its merits. They are generally understood to have been these two; that the Rockingham connexion should at all times have a majority in the cabinet; and that lord North should be removed to that “hospital of incurables,” as lord Chesterfield has stiled it, the house of lords. Surely these articles are the happiest that could have been conceived for preserving the power of administration, as much as may be, with the friends of the people. Places, merely of emolument and magnificence, must be bestowed somewhere. Where then can they be more properly lodged, than in the hands of those who are best able to support a liberal and virtuous administration?
I beg leave to add once more, in the fourth place, that, whatever the demerits of lord North as a minister may be supposed to have been, he is perhaps, in a thousand other respects, the fittest man in the world to occupy the second place in a junction of this sort. The union of the Rockingham connexion with the earl of Shelburne last year, was, I will admit, less calculated to excite popular astonishment, and popular disapprobation, than the present. In the eye of cool reason and sober foresight, I am apt to believe, it was much less wise and commendable. Lord Shelburne, though he has been able to win over the good opinion of several, under the notion of his being a friend of liberty, is really, in many respects, stiffly aristocratical, or highly monarchical. Lord Shelburne is a man of insatiable ambition, and who pursues the ends of that ambition by ways the most complex and insidious. The creed of lord North, whatever it may be, upon general political questions, is consistent and intelligible. For my own part, I do not believe him to be ambitious. It is not possible, with his indolent and easy temper, that he should be very susceptible to so restless a passion. In the heroical sense of that word, he sits loose to fame. He is undoubtedly desirous, by all the methods that appear to him honourable and just, to enrich and elevate his family. He wishes to have it in his power to oblige and to serve his friends. But I am exceedingly mistaken, if he entered into the present alliance from views of authority and power. Upon the conditions I have mentioned, it was a scheme, congenial only to a man of a dark and plotting temper. But the temper of lord North is in the highest degree candid, open and undisguised. Easy at home upon every occasion, there is not a circle in the world to which his presence would not be an addition. It is calculated to inspire unconstraint and confidence into every breast. Simple and amiable is the just description of his character in every domestic relation; constant and unreserved in his connexions of friendship. The very versatility and pliableness, so loudly condemned in his former situation, is now an additional recommendation. Is this the man, for whose intrigues and conspiracies we are bid to tremble?
Another charge that has been urged against the coalition, is, that it was a step that dictated to the sovereign, and excluded all, but one particular set of men, from the national councils. The first part of this charge is somewhat delicate in its nature. I shall only say respecting it, that, if, as we have endeavoured to prove, there were but one connexion, by which the business of administration could be happily discharged, the friend of liberty, rejoicing in the auspicious event, will not be very inquisitive in respect to the etiquette, with which they were introduced into the government. In the mean time, far from intending an exclusion, they declared publicly, that they would be happy to receive into their body any man of known integrity and abilities, from whatever party he came. The declaration has never been contradicted. — Strangers to the remotest idea of proscription, they erected a fortress, where every virtue, and every excellence might find a place.
The only remaining objection to the coalition that I know of, that it shocks established opinions, is not, I think, in itself, calculated to have much weight, and has, perhaps, been sufficiently animadverted upon, as we went along, in what has been already said. The proper question is, was it a necessary step? Was there any other way, by which the country could be redeemed? If a satisfactory answer has been furnished to these enquiries, the inevitable conclusion in my opinion is, that the more it mocked established opinions, and the more intellectual nerve it demanded, the more merit did it possess, and the louder applause is its due.
I am not inclined to believe, that a majority of my countrymen, upon reflection, have disapproved this measure. I am happy to perceive, that so much of that good sense and manly thinking in public questions, that has for ages been considered as the characteristic quality of Englishmen, is still left among us. There can be nothing more honourable than this. — By it our commonalty, though unable indeed to forestal the hero and the man of genius in his schemes, do yet, if I may be allowed the expression, tread upon his heels, and are prepared to follow him in all his views, and to glow with all his sentiments.
Sensible however, that in the first blush of such a scheme, its enemies must necessarily find their advantage in entrenching themselves behind those prejudices, that could not be eradicated in a moment, I was willing to wait for the hour of calmness and deliberation. I resolved cooly to let the first gush of prepossession blow over, and the spring tide of censure exhaust itself. I believed, that such a cause demanded only a fair and candid hearing. I have endeavoured to discharge my part in obtaining for it such a hearing. And I must leave the rest to my readers.
Among these there probably will be some, who, struck with the force of the arguments I have adduced on the one hand, and entangled in their favourite prejudices on the other, will remain in a kind of suspence; ashamed to retract their former opinions, but too honest to deny all weight and consideration to those I have defended. To these I have one word to say, and with that one word I will conclude. I will suppose you to confess, that appearances, exclusive of the controverted step, are in a thousand instances favourable to the new ministers. They have made the strongest professions, and the largest promises of attachment to the general cause. To professions and promises I do not wish you to trust. I should blush to revive the odious and exploded maxim, not men, but measures. If you cannot place some confidence in the present administration, I advise you, as honest men, to do every thing in your power to drive them from the helm. But you will hardly deny, that all their former conduct has afforded reasons for confidence. You are ready to admit, that, in no instance, but one, have they committed their characters. In that one instance, they have much to say for themselves, and it appears, at least, very possible, that they may have been acted in it, by virtuous and generous principles, even though we should suppose them mistaken. Remember then, that popularity and fame are the very nutriment of virtue. A thirst for fame is not a weakness. It is “the noble mind’s distinguishing perfection.” If then you would bind administration by tenfold ties to the cause of liberty, do not withdraw from them your approbation till they have forfeited it, by betraying, in one plain and palpable instance, the principles upon which they have formerly acted. I believe they need no new bonds, but are unchangeably fixed in the generous system, with which they commenced. But thus much is certain. If any thing can detach them from this glorious cause; if any thing can cool their ardour for the common weal, there is nothing that has half so great a tendency to effect this, as unmerited obloquy and disgrace.
FINIS.
The History of the Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1783)
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708-1778) was a statesman of the Whig group, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain in the middle of the eighteenth century. He was famously known as the Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title until 1766.
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE
CHARLES, Lord CAMDEN, LORD PRESIDENT OF HIS
MAJESTY’S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL: AS, TO THE FRIEND OF LORD CHATHAM, WHILE LIVING; THE PROTECTOR OF HIS MEMORY NOW DEAD; AND THE MAN IN WHOM HIS ILLUSTRIOUS
QUALITIES HAVE MOST EMINENTLY SURVIVED; THIS WORK; AN INADEQUATE TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM AND
VENERATION, IS HUMBLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS LORDSHIP’S
MOST DEVOTED
MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT, THE AUTHOR
London, Dec.
30, 1782.
INTRODUCTION.
MUCH HAS BEEN said of historical impartiality; and the generality seem to require it, as the first, and most indispensible quality of this branch of literature. It is however, like almost all terms of human invention, of ambiguous meaning. There is an impartiality, that embraces no party; that relates, with the fame spiritless and dispassionate tenour, the cruelties of a Nero, and the generous designs, and benevolent conduct of an Henri le grand. This is to be found, in the greatest perfection, in the dullest, and the stupidest historians. Lover, as I am, of impartiality, I think it my duty, in this place, to advertise my reader, that this kind of impartiality I abjure, and I despise. I am even free enough to think, that histories thus gifted, do not deserve the opening, to a philosopher; to a reader of morality; or a reader of taste.
But there is an impartiality; how shall I describe her? She is the native of no country; but a citizen of the world. She knows no personal regards; and she is superior to all party connections. She is deaf to the mandates of a court; and dead to the momentary gust of popular opinion. With a piercing eye, she looks through every disguise; and, with a discriminating spirit, she separates, in the most dazzling and beautiful characters, the false brilliant, from the true. She seats herself in the chair of truth. She appears the great archetype, of the celebrated Ægyptian judge, who decided, with solemnity, upon the merits of the dead; and determined the proportion of lustre, that should be reflected, from their characters, upon the remotest posterity. She considers this, as her sacred and inviolable office: and never can any temptation move her, to lend her authority, to elevate vice, on the one hand; or, on the other, to give substance and energy, to the blast of envy.
But then she is the farthest in the world from the coolness and indifference. On the contrary, she treats every event, that comes before her, with deliberate, but energetic decision. Vice shudders, at her tribunal; and cruelty shrinks, into that abject, cowardly, trembling thing, that God and nature stamped her. Innocence, liberty, humanity enshrine themselves, beneath her standard. She is the only vicar of the divinity upon earth; and the visible head of that illustrious church, which alone, from all nations of the world, unalterable rectitude, and immortal benevolence shall honour, in a future state. In fine, she is the genuine professor of humanity. By imperceptible, never ceasing advances, she wins over the sons of men, to the restoration of paradise. She discovers, to them, all that is virtue, and all, that is praise.
And this is the consummation of her reign; to expand every beautiful affection of the human heart, wide, as the universe of God; to blunt the horrid instruments of savage war, into instruments of agriculture, and the arts of cultivation; and to render man to man, in every distant clime, the propitious genius, and the guardian angel.
An attempt, at the former sort of impartiality, has spoiled half the well written histories, in the world. The bulk, it was impossible, should by this, or any other mistake, be spoiled. It is very lately, that the world has been taught; if indeed, in a comprehensive sense, it can yet be said, to be taught, the superiority, and the value of the genuine impartiality, The first writer, that has had the spirit, to assert it, in its fullest extent, seems to have been, the celebrated abbé Raynal. It is superfluous, to add, that this is the impartiality, to the attainment of which, the author of the following work, has most ardently aspired.
One word more, it is yet necessary to subjoin. His subject, abstracted, from its eternal arduousness, has, in this respect, a great additional difficulty. It is, in the utmost degree, recent; and one half of the characters, of which it is composed, are still living. In this case, the author does something more, than “walk, upon ashes, under which the fire, is not extinguished.” You may inveigh, against the projects of an Alexander, and extol the virtues of a Brutus, in the strongest terms, that language can furnish, without incurring the suspicion of partiality. But, could the author flatter himself, that he had been happy enough; to abstract so far, from the age, in which he lives; as to view events, with the fame disinterestedness, that he might employ, in the former instance: yet sure it is, that he should find few readers, assiduous, and philosophical enough, to weigh him, in an even balance. He must throw himself then, upon the candour of the public; and rest his appeal, if that does not favour too much of vanity, with the judgment of posterity.
CHAPTER I
Extraction and early pursuits of Mr Pitt. — Takes his seat in Parliament. — Administration of Sir Robert Walpole. — Spanish convention. — Administration of lord Carteret.
MR. WILLIAM PITT the subject of the present memoir was born on the fifteenth of November 1708. In conformity to the usual practice of biographers it may be expected that I should give some account of his extraction and family.
He has been treated by a celebrated nobleman as emphatically a new man. The fact is, that, as we cannot deduce his ancestry from a long line of nobility, so neither was it such, as that any man need be ashamed of it. His grandfather was Thomas Pitt, esquire, sometime governor of Madras, and who sold to the king of France the celebrated diamond, commonly known by the appellation of Pitt’s diamond. A younger son of that gentleman was created earl of Londonderry in Ireland; and one of his daughters married James Stanhope, esquire, afterwards earl Stanhope, the minister and friend of king George the first. Robert Pitt, of Boconnoc, in Cornwal, esquire, the father of our hero, was the eldest son. His lady was sister to John, earl of Grandison. By her he had two sons, of whom William was the younger, and five daughters.
CHAPTER II.
Administration of Mr. Pelham. — Mr. Pitt appointed paymaster-general. — His versatility. — Origin of the war of 1755. — Death of Mr. Pelham. — instability of his successors, the duke of Newcastle, and Mr. Fox. — Mr. Pitt appointed Secretary of State. — He is dismissed.
MR. PELHAM, WHO succeeded, was one of the students of sir Robert Walpole. He inherited his skill in parliamentary management, and was competently versed in the business of finance. But his abilities were in no degree equal to the conduct of a war. In some respects, however, he was directly the reverse of his master. The manners of Walpole were blunt and undisguised; and, as he was a stranger to the sentiments, so he was not studious to employ the language of virtue, but where it was indispensibly necessary. The manners of Mr. Pelham were mild, plausible, and insinuating. Upon all occasions, he preserved the decency of a gentleman, and the respectableness of office. By much apparent candour, and ever knowing when to yield, he turned the edge of opposition. Though engaged in the prosecution of those ruinous measures of government, which were, in some measure, entailed upon him; he has usually been considered, as a man of integrity and honour: and, however mistaken in his maxims of administration, is supposed to have been actuated by a sincere love for his country.
