Such was Sir Thomas; who was to allay the warring elements, to appease the Titans and the Giants, to hold the scales between Fox and Pitt. Let us, while contemplating this grievous and pathetic spectacle, at least take comfort that we have arrived at the priceless narrative of Lord Waldegrave, a man not brilliant, but shrewd and honest, who guides us past the waspish partiality of Horace Walpole, the bitterness of Glover, and the corrupt cynicism of Dodington with a light which we feel to be the lamp of truth. Newcastle, delighted with the consent of Sir Thomas, and with the apparent acquiescence of Fox, hastened to complete his arrangements with the squalid instinct of a jobber. Fox was, he thought, muzzled; the formidable task remained of silencing Pitt. He could not satisfy Pitt directly, for that would imply overwhelming difficulties with the King, and perhaps with Fox; but he might give indirect satisfaction, and detach some of Pitt's little section. In this last attempt he succeeded. Pitt's friend Legge was made Chancellor of the Exchequer, the King only making the same condition that he had with regard to Pitt himself, that he was never to receive the new minister. It is said, indeed, by Horace Walpole that his mean appearance and uncouth dialect made him unsuitable for such audiences, and that he would have preferred to remain Treasurer of the Navy, the lucrative post which had so great a fascination for Bubb. George Grenville, one of the Cobham Cousinhood, succeeded Legge in this attractive office; George Lyttelton, another, became Cofferer, with his brother as Sub-Cofferer; 'it is a good £2200 per annum, all taxes deducted,'[256] writes George of his new post in the fulness of his heart; and, according to Horace Walpole, in the exuberance of his satisfaction with that office, he vouched for Pitt's acquiescence in the new arrangements. Newcastle himself presented these appointments to Pitt with a satisfaction not unalloyed with melancholy presentiments. 'The appointment of Mr. Legge was made,' he writes, 'with a view to please all our friends. We knew he was well with the old corps, we knew he was happy in your friendship, and in your good opinion and in that of your connection; _and you must allow me to say, that I never could have thought one moment of removing you, in the high light which you so justly stand, from the office you now possess to be Chancellor of the Exchequer with another person at the head of the Treasury_.'[257]
Real Estate Digest
Lord Chatham — Part 194
2026-11-16 04:44:24 · The Daily Ledger
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