Negotia the Whigs. aptitude for business, that he no longer relied upon the counsels of his favourite. He was able to rule alone; and wanted instruments, rather than advisers. The second condition was the dismissal of Mr. Stuart Mackenzie, Lord Bute's brother, from the office of privy seal in Scotland, and from the management of the affairs of that country. In this, too, the king yielded, though sorely against his will, as he had promised the office for life.2 Meanwhile the breach between the king and his ministers became still wider. They had been forced upon him by necessity: they knew that he was plotting their speedy overthrow, and protested against the intrigues by which their influence was counteracted. The Duke of Bedford besought the king "to permit his authority and his favour to go together;" and these remonstrances were represented by the king's friends as insolent and overbearing. An outcry was raised against the ministers that they "desired to enslave the king," who was now determined to make any sacrifices to get rid of them. The negotiations for a new ministry were again tions with conducted on behalf of the king, by his uncle the Duke of Cumberland. Such was the popular hatred of Lord Bute and his countrymen, that the Duke's former severities against the Scotch, which had gained for him the name of "the butcher," were now a claim to popular favour. The rebellious Scots had been treated as they deserved; and he who had already chastised them, was not the man to favour their pretensions at July, 1765. court. These negotiations were protracted for seven 1 Bedford Corr., iii. 264. 2 Walp. Geo. III., ii. 175; Grenville Papers, iii. 185. He was afterwards restored in 1766 by the Earl of Chatham.-Ib., 362. 312th June, 1765; Bedford Corr., iii. Introd., pp. xliii. xlv. 286; Grenville Papers, iii. 194. 4 Junius, Letter xxiii.; Burke's Works, ii. 156; Walp. Geo. III., ii. 182; Bedford Corr., iii. 286. weeks, while the country was virtually without a government. Mr. Pitt was again impracticable: the further continuance of the Grenville ministry could not be endured; and, at length, the king was reduced to the necessity of surrendering himself once more to the very men whom he most dreaded. nistry, 1765. The Marquess of Rockingham, the leader of the ob- Rockingnoxious Whig aristocracy,-the statesman whom he had ham mirecently removed from his lieutenancy,-the king was now obliged to accept as Premier; and General Conway, whom he had deprived of his regiment, became a secretary of state, and leader of the House of Commons. The policy of proscription was, for a time at least, reversed and condemned. Mr. Pitt, when solicited by the Dismissal Duke of Cumberland to take office, had named as one condemned. of his conditions, the restoration of officers dismissed on political grounds. This the king had anticipated, and was prepared to grant.2 The Rockingham administration insisted on the same terms; and according to Mr. Burke "discountenanced, and it is hoped for ever abolished, the dangerous and unconstitutional practice of removing military officers, for their votes in Parliament." 3 of officers of the nistry. The Whig leaders were not less jealous of the in- Conditions fluence of Lord Bute, than the ministry whom they Rockingdisplaced; and before they would accept office, they ham miinsisted "that the thought of replacing Mr. Mackenzie should be laid aside; and also that some of the particular friends of the Earl of Bute should be removed, as a proof to the world that the Earl of Bute should not either publicly or privately, directly or indirectly, have any concern or influence in public affairs, or in 1 Walp. Mem., ii. 192. 2 Ibid., ii. 165; Duke of Cumberland's Narrative; Rockingham Mem., i. 193-196. 3 Short Account of a Late Short Administration. friends. the management or disposition of public employments." These conditions being agreed to, a ministry so constituted was likely to be independent of court influence yet it was soon reproached with submission The king's to the "interior cabinet." Mr. Pitt said, " Methinks I plainly discover the traces of an overruling influence; and while he disavowed any prejudice against the country of Lord Bute, he declared that "the man of that country wanted wisdom, and held principles incompatible with freedom." This supposed influence was disclaimed on the part of the government by General Conway: "I see nothing of it," said he, "I feel nothing of it: I disclaim it for myself, and as far as my discernment can reach, for the rest of his Majesty's ministers." "2 Whether Lord Bute had, at this time, any influence at court, was long a subject of doubt and controversy. It was confidently believed by the public, and by many of the best informed of his contemporaries; but Lord Bute, several years afterwards, so explicitly denied it, that his denial may be accepted as conclusive.3 The king's friends, however, had become more numerous, and acted under better discipline. Some held offices in the government or household, yet looked for instructions, not to ministers, but to the king. 1 Paper drawn up by Duke of Newcastle, Rockingham Mem.,1.218. 2 Debate on the address, 1766, Parl. Hist., xvi. 97, 101. 3 His son, Lord Mountstuart, writing Oct., 23, 1773, said: “Lord Bute authorises me to say that he declares upon his solemn word of honour, he has not had the honour of waiting on his Majesty, but at his levée or drawing-room; nor has he presumed to offer any advice or opinion concerning the disposition of offices, or the conduct of Men enjoying obscure measures, either directly or indirectly, by himself or any other, from the time when the late Duke of Cumberland was consulted in the arrangement of a ministry in 1765, to the present hour."- Tomline's Life of Pitt, i. 452, n. See also Rockingham Mem., i. 358-360; Lord Brougham's Sketches of Statesmen, Works, iii. 49.; Edinb. Rev. cxli. 94; Quart. Rev. cxxxi. 236. Lord John Russell's Intr. to vol. iii. of Bedford Corr., xxxiii. but lucrative appointments, in the gift of the king himself, and other members of the royal family, voted at the bidding of the court. But the greater number of the king's friends were independent members of Parliament, whom various motives had attracted to his cause. Many were influenced by high notions of prerogative,-by loyalty, by confidence in the judgment and honesty of their sovereign, and personal attachment to his Majesty; and many by hopes of favour and advancement. They formed a distinct party; and their coherence was secured by the same causes which generally contribute to the formation of party ties.1 But their principles and position were inconsistent with constitutional government. Their services to the king were no longer confined to counsel, or political intrigue; but were organised so as to influence the deliberations of Parliament. And their organisation for such a purpose, marked a further advance in the unconstitutional policy of the court. influence in The king continued personally to direct the measures The king's of his ministers, more particularly in the disputes Parliament, with the American colonies, which, in his opinion, involved the rights and honour of his crown.2 He was resolutely opposed to the repeal of the Stamp Act, which ministers thought necessary for the conciliation of the colonies. He resisted this measure in council; but finding ministers resolved to carry it, he opposed them in Parliament by the authority of his name, and by his personal influence over a considerable body of parliamentary adherents. The king affected, Burke's Present Discontents, Works, ii. 254. Burke's Corr., i. 352; Grenville Papers, ii. 33, iii. 57; Rockingham Mem., i. 5, 307; Fox Mem., i. 120, &c.; Walp. Mem., iv. 315, 2 The king said his ministers "would undo his people, in giving 3 Walp. Mem., ii. 259, 331, n. The king's friends. indeed, to support his ministers, and to decline the Ministers had to contend against another difficulty, 353. 2 Grenville Papers, iii. 374; Walp. 3 Grenville Papers, iii. 374. The |