Mr. Pitt caught hold of the noble lord's word co-operating, to which he attached himself for some time, and said, for his part, he could not form a doubt but that it was the wish of the House to establish such a co-operation as would prove undoubtedly of the most salutary consequence; that co-operation, however, was not to be acquired by the present resolution, which tended neither in its letter, nor its spirit, to conciliate it. If, by any co-operation of sentiment, in respect to an address, there was a probable likelihood of removing the difficulties that stood in the way of forming an administration, there was no man to be found more ready than he should be to adopt and subscribe to it; but he asked, and he demanded an answer from gentlemen, whether it was decent, whether it was loyal, whether it was parliamentary, whether it was constitutional, whether it was prudent, to agree to the motion proposed by the noble lord? He requested the House to consider that it was only on Wednesday last when His Majesty received the address, and that there had elapsed but four days since that time. The royal answer was all that parliament could expect, it was all that parliament could wish, and a reasonable time should be allowed for conforming to the requisitions of the House. He lamented the situation of government without a minister, and saw inevitable destruction to the country if an administration was not formed: yet he must confess at the same time, that the measure proposed to the House to effect that desirable purpose did not meet his idea of what was due to the country, and what was due to the sovereign. The motion strongly militated against political justice, and went directly to abolish the clear and undisputed privileges of the crown, and to effect a dissolution of all regal authority.

Until, therefore, he heard some sound reason adduced, some good substantial argument in proof of the propriety of the noble lord's motion, it should not, it could not, have his assent. In the words in which it now stood, it seemed to him to be couched in terms totally unwarrantable according to the present situation of the business. A most gracious answer had come from His Majesty, of which he was certain every member of the House approved;

and that answer he insisted was a sufficient security to parliament of the sovereign's intentions to comply with the wishes of the House. It was a pledge of a very strong nature, and which, if the noble lord's motion was carried, must in consequence lose its intrinsic value, and give an opinion of the royal word, which, perhaps, nay, which he was certain, it was not in the intention of any member of that assembly to convey. If a second application became necessary, it should be adopted with propriety, and conveyed with delicacy. There was a respect due to Majesty, which he hoped the House would never forget, as it was one of the great links that bound the three estates of the constitution together. Having said thus much, he observed, he should not, until he heard what was farther to be urged in support of the motion, take up any more of the time of the House.

Lord John Cavendish and Lord North disapproved of the resolution, preferring, as a more eligible mode, the form of an address. Lord North, in the course of his remarks, objected further to the wording of the mo tion. It implied, he said, that for six weeks past there had been no responsible ministers: this was not the fact; there had been ministers, who, till they resigned, were responsible for the conduct of government — responsible as ministers for every part of their conduct. This brought up Mr. PITT once more:

Considering himself called upon by the noble lord who spoke last, he declared that, so long as he held any employment under the crown, he looked upon himself as responsible to parliament and to the people for his conduct. He wished not to conceal nor to do away, any one act during his official administration, by resigning the place he lately held. His desire his ambition was, that his conduct as Chancellor of the Exchequer should meet every investigation should be canvassed and scrutinized. He was conscious in himself that he acted uprightly, and therefore had nothing to dread. He again repeated, that he was responsible so long as he continued in office, and that he shadowed himself not from enquiry under the idea of retirement.

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The Earl of Surrey then, in compliance with the wishes of the House, withdrew the resolution he had proposed; and substituted in its stead

an address to His Majesty, in substance the same, but differing in its language from the original resolution.

To the proposition thus modified, Mr. Pitt had only to object that it was something premature. He again made a public declaration, that he was unconnected with any party whatever; that he should keep himself reserved, and act with which ever side he thought did right. He would abide by the declaration he had made on a former occasion, that he would take no active part for or against any party, but would be guided solely by the measures that were pursued; and it would be with the utmost reluctance that he should oppose any administration whatever; neither would he do it unless he was convinced they were acting wrong. In reply to what had been said about his responsibility, he declared, he was the last man in the kingdom holding the principles that he repeatedly avowed in that House, and meaning to act up to those principles in every possible situation, who would for a moment attempt to argue, that persons holding offices were not responsible for every part of their public conduct Undoubtedly they were, and he held himself responsible to the very hour of his resignation. At the same time, he trusted, that it would be admitted, the extent of the responsibility was to be determined and governed by the peculiar circumstances of the times. If it should appear hereafter, that he had, on any occasion, within the past six weeks, done what he ought not to have done, or left undone what he ought to have done, or, in fact, neglected to promote the public interest where he could have promoted it, he was ready to admit his culpability.

With respect to the motion before the House, he really thought it too precipitate: there had been scarce time, since His Majesty had given his gracious answer, to form an arrangement. He could wish, as the right honourable gentleman had said, that unanimity would prevail, and that the address would be withdrawn without a division. He would not pledge himself to the House that such an arrangement would positively be made as the former address required, yet he thought an arrangement would

take place in the course of a few days; therefore he could wish they would wait for it, and if then they should observe any culpable delay, the motion should have his hearty concurrence and support. He would not pledge himself to abide by the exact words, but he certainly would vote for an address to the throne to know the cause of delay.

The motion was agreed to be withdrawn, but with the notice of its being resumed on an early day. *

May 7. 1783.

Mr. PITT this day brought forward his promised motion respecting the Reform of Parliamentary Representation.

On the 2d of April it was announced to the House, that a new administration had been formed.

Members of the Cabinet.

Duke of Portland......... First Lord of the Treasury.

Lord North................. Secretary of State for the Home Department. Right Hon. Charles James Fox, Ditto for the Foreign department.

Lord John Cavendish.... Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Lord Viscount Keppel... First Lord of the Admiralty.

Lord Viscount Stormont President of the Council.

Earl Carlisle................ Lord Privy Seal.

Not of the Cabinet.

Lord Loughborough......Lords Commissioners for the Custody of Sir Wm. Henry Ashurst..

Sir Beamont Hotham.....

the Great Seal.

Lord George Townshend... Master-General of the Ordnance.

Hon. Richard Fitzpatrick... Secretary at War.

Edmund Burke, Esq......... Paymaster of the Forces.

Charles Townshend, Esq... Treasurer of the Navy.

James Wallace, Esq......... Attorney-General.

John Lee, Esq..........

Solicitor-General.

Rich. Brinsley Sheridan, Esq. Secretaries to the Treasury.
Richard Burke, Esq.........

Earl of Mansfield............ Speaker of the House of Lords.
Earl of Northington......... Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

In order to secure a full attendance of members on this important question, the House had been previously calledover; and now, after the various petitions that had been presented in favour of the measure had been read,

Mr. PITT rose to open the business. He declared that in his life he had never felt more embarrassment, or more anxiety than he felt at that moment, when, for his country's good, he found himself obliged to discover, and lay before the House, the imperfections of that constitution to which every Englishman ought to look up with reverential awe; a constitution which, while it continued such as it was framed by our ancestors, was truly called the production of the most consummate wisdom: raised by that constitution to greatness and to glory, England had been at once the envy and the pride of the world; Europe was taught by experience that liberty was the foundation of true greatness; and that while England remained under a government perfectly free, she never failed to perform exploits that dazzled the neighbouring nations. To him, he did assure the House, it was interesting, indeed interesting and awful beyond the power of description. He wished, however, the House to view the arduous and very difficult task he had ventured to undertake, in its true light. No man saw that glorious fabric, the constitution of this country, with more admiration, nor with more reverence than himself: he beheld it with wonder, with veneration, and with gratitude: it gave an Englishman such dear and valuable privileges, or he might say, such advantageous and dignified prerogatives, as were not only beyond the reach of the subjects of every other nation, but afforded us a degree of happiness unknown to those who lived under governments of a nature less pregnant with principles of liberty; indeed there was no form of government on the known surface of the globe, that was so nearly allied to perfect freedom. But a melancholy series of events, which had eclipsed the glory of Britain, exhibited a reverse of fortune, which could be accounted for only upon this principle, that, during the last fifteen years, there had been a deviation from the principles of that happy constitution, under which the people of England had so long flourished.