A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume III — John Shaqi
A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume IIIMcCarthy, Justin H. (Justin Huntly)
History
A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume III
McCarthy, Justin H. (Justin Huntly)
Great Britain -- History -- 1714-1837; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1714-1837
Bute was not content with the overthrow of Pitt. He wished to stand in
isolated splendor, and to accomplish this Newcastle too must go. The
great briber of yesterday had to give way to the great briber of
to-day, and Bute stood alone before the world, the head of the King's
Ministry, the favorite of the King, the champion of a policy that
promised peace abroad and purity at home, and that resulted in a
renewal of war under conditions of peculiar disadvantage and a renewed
employment of the basest forms of political corruption. Bute had
gained the power he longed for, but Bute was soon to learn that power
need not and did not mean popularity. "The new Administration begins
tempestuously," Walpole wrote on June 20, 1762. "My father was not
more abused after twenty years than Lord Bute is after twenty days.
Weekly papers swarm, and, like other swarms of insects, sting." Bute
affected an indifference to this unpopularity which he did not really
feel. It is not flattering to a statesman's pride to be unable to go
abroad without being hissed and pelted by the mob, and it is hard for a
minister to convince himself of the admiration of a nation when a
strong bodyguard is necessary to secure him from the constant danger of
personal attacks. Bute's character did not refine under the tests
imposed upon it. His objectionable qualities grew more and more
unpopular. The less he was liked the less he deserved to be liked.
Adversity did not magnify that small soul. In his mean anger he sought
for mean revenge. Every person who owed an appointment to the former
ministry felt the weight of the favorite's wrath. Dismissal from
office was the order of the day, and Whig after Whig was forced to
leave his place or office open for {29} some Tory who was ready to
express an enthusiasm for the statesmanship of Bute.
[Sidenote: 1762--Bute's foreign policy]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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