nation, was occasioned by no alteration in his fentiments or principles, no relaxation of his promptitude or vigour, no impeachment of his conduct, his judgment or his virtue; nor was it to be afcribed to the ufual verfatility of mankind, particularly the natives of Great Britain, whofe ruling paffion is novelty; but it is to be attributed entirely, and exclufively, to the influence of corruption, to the avarice and vanity of fuch men as are always eager to pay homage to the diftribution of rewards; whoever he may be, of whatever nation, or of whatever complexion.'

'Mr. Pitt's first care after his refignation, was the diminution of his household. Amongst his other retrenchments were his coach horfes, which were fold by public advertisement in his own name. His enemies ftigmatized this circumftance with the appel lations of parade and oftentation ; — his friends denominated the whole meafure prudence and economy. Certain it is, that he had not, like many of his predeceffors, amaffed a fortune in his late fituation. He retired from office an indigent man, with little more than his annuity for his fupport. From all his places he acquired no poffeffions. The legacy of ten thoufand pounds, left him by the duchefs of Marlborough, had amply fupplied his pecuniary wants; releafed him from all dependence on his family and friends, and while it emancipated him from the terrors of obligation, it inspired him with that spirit of independence, which may be faid to have firft kindled that blaze, which adorned the remainder of his life. During his stay in office he had no levees— he dedicated his whole time to the duties of his ftation. he refigned, many of the principal cities and corporations in the kingdom, prefented him with addreffes of thanks for his great and important fervices; and at the fame time lamented the caufe of his departure from government.'

When

In the account before us, the court of Sardinia is faid to have fold the peace, founded on the affertion of Mr. Pitt, in his fpeech in 1770, that this country had been twice fold by the houfe of Savoy: alluding in the firft inftance to the peace of Aix la Chapelle, If, as is afferted, the court of Turin was requested to guarantee the pacific intentions of England, and implored' to become an umpire in the treaty, the abject humiliating conduct cannot be too feverely reprobated. For the following particulars no authority is mentioned: they must be received, therefore, with caution.

• The duke of Bedford fet out for Paris on the fifth of September 1762, with full powers to treat; and on the 12th of the fame month, the duc de Nivernois arrived in England. A few hours after the duke of Bedford arrived at Calais, he received dispatches

from

from London, by a meffenger who was fent after him, containing fome limitations in his full powers. He immediately fent the mef fenger back with a letter, infifting upon his former inftructions. being restored, and in cafe of a refufal, declaring his refolution to return to England. The cabinet acceded to his grace's demand. But the most effential articles of the treaty were agreed upon be tween M. de Choiseul and the Sardinian minifter at Paris, and lord Bute and the Sardinian minister at London, without any other trouble to the duke of Bedford than giving his formal affent. The mancevure in making the king of Sardinia umpire, gave to his ambaffadors the power of decifion; confequently the duke of Bedford had very little room for the exercife of his powers; until a circumftance happened, which occafioned a divifion in the British cabinet. This was the capture of the Havannah. The news of this event arrived in England on the 29th of September. The negotiation was nearly concluded. In a few days the preliminaries would have been figned.

Lord Bute expreffed his fears, that this acquifition would embarrass and poftpone the accomplishment of peace, if the negotiation, which was on the point of being finished, should on that account be opened again; and therefore he declared his wish to be, to conclude the peace in the fame manner, and on the fame terms, which had been agreed upon before the news of this event arrived; without any other mention of it, than the name of it among the places to be restored.

Mr. Grenville oppofed this idea. He declared his opinion to be, that if the Havannah was restored, there ought to be an equivalent given for it. And in their deliberations upon this fubject, it is certain, that he infifted upon this alternative- either the entire property of Jucatan and Florida, or the islands of St. Lucia and Porto Rico.

• Lord Bute adhered to his first opinion. Upon which Mr. Grenville refigned his place of fecretary of state on the 12th day of October. Lord Halifax immediately fucceeded to his office; and Mr. Grenville went to the admiralty, by which he was removed from the cabinet.

Lord Egremont, however, represented to lord Bute, in very ftrong terms, the neceffity of an equivalent for the Havannah. Either his lordship's arguments, or lord Bute's fears, fo far prevailed, as to occafion an inftruction to be fent to the duke of Bedford, to afk for Florida. The duke had been informed of the whole difpute in the British cabinet, by Mr. Grenville, and being entirely of Mr. Grenville's opinion, he added, Porto Rico to his demand. But lord Bute and the Sardinian minister in London, fettled it for Florida only. At Paris fome difficulties arofe. The ceffion of Florida was made without the least hefita.

tion, the French minifter inftantly agreed to it; which fhews the fuperior influence of the French cabinet in this negotiation. But with respect to Porto Rico, the French minifter reforted to chicane and delay. It was at length agreed, to fend a messenger to Madrid, with this demand. Fourteen days were allowed for the meffenger to go and return. During this period the duke of Bedford received pofitive orders to fign the preliminaries. Two days after the preliminaries were figned, the meffenger returned; and it was faid, that Spain purchased the retention of the island. Whether the Sardinian minifter at London, or at París, or both, were entrusted on this occafion; or whether any other perfons were admitted to the fame confidence, are queftions for the inveftigation of posterity.'

Notwithstanding the efforts of the North Briton, our author fuppofes that the refignation of lord Bute was effected by the union of Mr. Grenville with the duke of Bedford, and the menaces held out to him refpecting the negotiations for peace, The refignation of the duke of Devonshire and of the duke of Newcastle were attended with circumftances of popular disguft. The account given in these volumes we shall not tran fcribe, for we have been detained too long from the principal fubject.

When the preliminaries of peace were laid before parliament, Mr. Pitt, then in an ill state of health, oppofed them with great vigour. They were approved of, however, by a very large majority, a majority, as our author afferts a little too confidently, procured by bribes, unusually liberal both in the value and extent. It is certain that the expences of the war, the load of taxes till then unprecedented, had alarmed. the nation, and an unmanly dread of future evils had fuc ceeded the rejoicings for numerous and unexampled victories. Befides, if it is a maxim in the English conftitution that the king can do no wrong, the idea is ftill more forcible when fpoken of a young king, with the most interesting popular qua lities.

The projected excife on cyder, and fome other difagreeable attempts of the new miniftry, rendered them unpopular, and occafioned fome conferences in 1763 between Mr. Pitt and lord Bute. They produced, however, no beneficial confequence, owing, as our author very plainly infinuates, to fecret influence. The numerous changes in administration, and their conduct refpecting Mr. Wilkes, whofe caufe Mr. Pitt adopted, are well known. The following remarks occur in the account of the Rockingham administration in 1766: it relates to Dunkirk."

This point of frequent and anxious difcuffion, feems to have been mistaken by the British minifters, prior and fubfequent to lord Rockingham. From the peace of Utrecht, in the year 1713, to the month of September 1765, all our demands concerning the demolition of Dunkirk, have originated in a wrong principle. We have infifted upon levelling the ramparts, upon filling up the cunette, &c. These were immaterial points, to which the French court confented, after fome affected hefitation. The fortifications on the land fide are of no confequence to England. It was the harbour alone that ought to have engaged our attention. Lord Rockingham faw this mistake; in his adminiftration only, was the demolition of the harbour feriously attempted: and had he remained a little longer in office, it must have been accomplithed. His demands were directed to the jettees, which protect the channel to the harbour, and without which, the harbour becomes totally unferviceable. Thefe jettees are two piers, which project about three quarters of a mile from the harbour into the fea; and are about twelve feet high, from low-water mark: between them is the channel into the harbour. His lordfhip ordered a breach to be made in the eatern jettee, near the middle, fufficient to admit the fea. All Dunkirk was inftantly filled with alarm. They faw the ruin of the harbour was inevitable. A few tides made the fact clear. The fand was driven through the breach with fuch aftonishing velocity, it was fully manifeft, the channel must be entirely choaked in a few days more. Had this breach been madelarger, which was intended; and another made lower down, towards the fea, which was alfo intended; the harbour must have been fo effectually rendered ufelefs, that nothing larger than a row-boat, or a pilot, could have got into it. The French imme diately faw the effect of this fmall breach, and inftantly put a stop to the progrefs of the workmen. The reader is to observe, that in all our ftipulations our court has made with France, refpecting Dunkirk, a kind of childish delufion has conftantly been admitted-this was the French were to employ their own people to execute our demands, and we were to fend our furveyors to examine and report the state of their operation. Our furveyors had no controul over the workmen and if the French governor at any time, chofe to put a stop to their labour, we could not oblige them to refume their work. The furveyors might return to Eng. land, and upon their report, the British ambaffador at Paris was ufually inftructed to remonftrate; which commonly produced an evasive answer. The furveyors have been fent back, and the fame farce has been played over again. In this manner have the negotiations concerning Dunkirk, been continued, dropped, and revived from the year 1713. As a proof, that lord Rockingham was right in this matter, we need only obferve, the conduct of the French,

French, in this particular, fince the treaty of 1782, by which we furrendered all claim and concern whatever respecting Dunkirk, Inftead of repairing the fortifications, on the demolition of which, we formerly fo frenuously infifted, or opening the cunette, or paying any regard whatever to the land fide, their whole attention has been directed to widening, deeping, and enlarging the hartour. They have made it capacious, jafe, and convenient. Thofe who think Dunkirk a place of no danger to the commerce of London, may find their mistake in a future day.'

During this adminiftration Mr. Wilkes returned from France to London. We only mention it to remark, that the account of his negotiation with the min fry is taken, it is faid, frem Mr. H. Core's manufcript. In this account it is obferved, that Mr. Rofe Fuller, who was violențin his oppofition to various adminitrations, was found, on his death, to have received a penfion from the court for many years.

The next and laft ftep of importance, in lord Chatham's public life, related to the American ftamp-act; the various negotiations for changes in adminiftration would detain us too long, and are too difgufting to induce us to enlarge on them. The debates on the Middlefex election are not equally unimportant; but the queftion is in no material refpect clucidated by our author. We may stop to notice, however, our author's remarks on the fuppofed generofity of queen Anne, who granted 100,000l. per aunum from the civil lift, towards the expences of the war.

In fact, this pretended generosity was one of the moft feandalous actions that the crown ever committed by any administration. It was a manifeft and grofs cheat upon the public, who were extravagant lofers by it; for fome time after, viz. upon the 25th of June 1713, the queen acquainted the house of commons, by meffage, that he had contracted a very large debt upon her civil lift revenue, which the was unable to pay, and therefore defired to make them good; and fuch was the complaifance of a tory parliament, that notwithstanding the detellation which must have arifen in every honest breast, upon the detection of this clumley juggle, and though Mr. Smith, one of the tellers of the exchequer, honeftly informed the houfe, that the estimate of this debt was aftonishing to him, being made to amount to August 1710, to 400,000l. Whereas, he was able to affirm from his own knowledge, that it amounted at that time to little more than 100,000l. and though many others undertook to prove, that the funds given for 700,000l. had, in reality, amounted to 300,000l. ; and though theie gentlemen had prevailed fo far as to procure an address to the crown for an account of the civil lift debt at Midsummer 1713,

and