Fox was vanquished in advance, and by his own fault; he had attacked that equilibrium of the Constitution, dear to all good citizens, and to honest men who are not irrevocably bound in the dangerous bonds of party spirit. He threatened to suspend the supplies, and proposed to limit to two months the duration of the mutiny act, usually voted for a year. In vain did he employ, in order to defend his conduct, all the marvellous resources of his eloquence. A great remonstrance to the king, that he had prepared with care, passed by the majority of a single voice. The supply and the mutiny bills were passed without difficulty. "The enemy seems to be upon its back," wrote Pitt to the Duke of Rutland, on the 10th of March, 1784; and to his mother on the 16th, he wrote, "I regard our actual situation as a triumph in comparison with what it was. My joy is doubled by the thought that it extends even to you, and gives you satisfaction."
The moment to make an appeal to the country had finally come. After three months of courageous and bold patience, Pitt counselled the king to dissolve parliament. When the writs of convocation were about to be issued, the great seal had disappeared; it has never been known by whom or for what purpose the theft was committed In twenty-four hours the loss was repaired, as it had been after the flight of King James II., who had thrown his great seal into the Thames. { 344} On the 24th of March, 1784, the king presented himself at the House of Lords, and said: "After having well considered the present situation of affairs and the extraordinary circumstances which have produced it, I have decided to put an end to this session of Parliament. I feel that it is my duty towards the Constitution and the country, to make an appeal to the good sense of my people, as soon as possible, by convoking a new Parliament."
Never were elections more enthusiastic, never was success more complete than that of the cabinet. One hundred and sixty friends of Fox lost their seats. His own election at Westminster was for a long time uncertain. Neither his resolution nor his presence of mind deserted him. "The bad news spreads on all sides," wrote he to one of his friends; "but it seems to me that misfortunes, when they crowd in upon us, should have the effect of increasing our courage instead of intimidating it."