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The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801Hunt, William

History

The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801

Name: The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801
Author: Hunt, William

Hunt, William

Great Britain -- History -- George III, 1760-1820

The king appears to have received Bute's resignation without regret;
indeed it was remarked that the day before it was announced he was in
unusually good spirits, "like a person just emancipated".[65] Bute had
done all that he could do for him as prime minister; he had cleared the
ground for the establishment of the king's system of government; the
whig oligarchy was disorganised and overthrown, and the war was at an
end. George could not have wished to keep a minister in office who was
hated by his people; that would have been contrary to the idea of a
patriot king, and would in time have made him unpopular. Nor was he
perhaps altogether satisfied with Bute's conduct in office; for in later
life he observed that he was "deficient in political firmness".[66] Bute
was to continue to be useful to him in another capacity in which
political firmness was not so important; he was to be the king's private
adviser, and help him to select and manage his responsible ministers.
Through his instrumentality, George had already secured a set of
ministers who would, they both believed, be content to carry out the
king's will. Grenville, though he had opposed Bute in the cabinet with
reference to the negotiations with France, professed that as prime
minister he would try to win his complete approval, and with only one
exception allowed Bute to form his administration for him. Bute and his
master thought they had secured a useful tool, a subservient and
hard-working drudge. They were mistaken in their man; Grenville was
independent and self-confident. He took the two offices of first lord of
the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. Dashwood retired with Bute
and the barony of Despencer was called out of abeyance in his favour.
Halifax and Egremont remained secretaries of state and Henley lord
chancellor. Bedford distrusted Bute and refused to take office. The new
administration promised to exercise economy, and Grenville took care
that the pledge should be redeemed. Its frugality did not make it
popular; it did not command the confidence of the nation, and was
generally considered a feeble continuation of its predecessor.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801Hunt, William

History

The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801

Hunt, William

Great Britain -- History -- George III, 1760-1820

The king appears to have received Bute's resignation without regret;
indeed it was remarked that the day before it was announced he was in
unusually good spirits, "like a person just emancipated".[65] Bute had
done all that he could do for him as prime minister; he had cleared the
ground for the establishment of the king's system of government; the
whig oligarchy was disorganised and overthrown, and the war was at an
end. George could not have wished to keep a minister in office who was
hated by his people; that would have been contrary to the idea of a
patriot king, and would in time have made him unpopular. Nor was he
perhaps altogether satisfied with Bute's conduct in office; for in later
life he observed that he was "deficient in political firmness".[66] Bute
was to continue to be useful to him in another capacity in which
political firmness was not so important; he was to be the king's private
adviser, and help him to select and manage his responsible ministers.
Through his instrumentality, George had already secured a set of
ministers who would, they both believed, be content to carry out the
king's will. Grenville, though he had opposed Bute in the cabinet with
reference to the negotiations with France, professed that as prime
minister he would try to win his complete approval, and with only one
exception allowed Bute to form his administration for him. Bute and his
master thought they had secured a useful tool, a subservient and
hard-working drudge. They were mistaken in their man; Grenville was
independent and self-confident. He took the two offices of first lord of
the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. Dashwood retired with Bute
and the barony of Despencer was called out of abeyance in his favour.
Halifax and Egremont remained secretaries of state and Henley lord
chancellor. Bedford distrusted Bute and refused to take office. The new
administration promised to exercise economy, and Grenville took care
that the pledge should be redeemed. Its frugality did not make it
popular; it did not command the confidence of the nation, and was
generally considered a feeble continuation of its predecessor.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801

The history of England, from the accession of George III. to the close of Pitt's first administration, 1760-1801

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