The accession of George III. did not interfere with the conduct of the war. Nineteen millions were voted the first year of his reign; and though Mr. Pitt retired from the councils of his Majesty, the contest was carried on with the same energy; while the system of subsidies was continued with a profusion which has been rarely paralleled. Triumphs such as these produced their effects on the opponents of England. Spain and Portugal were anxious for peace; France was impoverished, the plate of her monarch converted into money; and, in 1762, a just and honorable peace was concluded. It is remarkable, also, that public distress was never less apparent than during this war; and the rare picture was presented of a people supporting without murmurs the trials and the taxes of a wide and costly contest. Prosperity and wealth at home hid the price at which the victories were purchased abroad. London was never more thriving; and the importance of several manufacturing districts dates from the success of the seven years’ war. During this period, the whole continent of America fell into our power. Twenty-five islands were captured; twelve great battles won; nine fortified cities, and forty forts and castles, taken. One hundred ships of war and twelve millions of specie acquired; sixty millions added to the national debt, and fifty-two millions raised by taxes. To produce the peace which followed this contest, bribery was resorted to, and the public money wasted. “The peace of 1763,” said John Ross Mackay, private secretary to the Earl of Bute, and afterwards Treasurer to the Ordnance, “was carried through and approved by a pecuniary distribution. Nothing else could have surmounted the difficulty. I was myself the channel through which the money passed. With my own hand I secured above one hundred and twenty votes on that vital question. Eighty thousand pounds were set apart for the purpose. Forty members of the House of Commons received from me a thousand pounds each. To eighty others I paid five hundred pounds apiece.” The continued corruptions produced continued irregularity. George II. said he was the only master who did not see his servants remunerated; adding, to Mr. Pelham, that if the civil list were not paid, he would find another minister. Remonstrances on the injury to the national and individual interest were so frequent, that the king declared he would inspect the accounts himself. The Duke of Newcastle, then prime minister, bowed, and promised to send the papers; and the following morning, a cart loaded with official accounts was paraded in the court-yard of the palace. With much violence, the monarch demanded the cause of the display. “They form a portion of the accounts your Majesty desired to inspect,” was the reply; “there is another wagon-full on the road.” One specimen of the accounts his Majesty had offered to investigate was, however, quite sufficient; and the public complaint remained unalleviated.