Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 45.djvu/364

 household, the king refused to forgive his opposition to the foreign subsidies and the contemptuous tone in which he had spoken of Hanover. Nevertheless he gave the government the constant support of his eloquence. On 23 Jan. 1745, although he had been laid up with gout since the session began, he complimented Pelham 'on that true love of his country and capacity for business which he had always shown,' and commended the 'moderate and healing' measures of the ministry (Parl. Hist. xiii. 1054-6, n.) On 18 Feb. he supported Pelham's motion for the grant of a subsidy to Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary, which he described as 'a meritorious and popular measure' (ib. xiii. 1176-8, n.) At the opening of parliament in October he opposed Dashwood's amendment to the address as 'very unseasonable' (ib. xiii. 1348-51), and in the following month he warmly supported the cause of the new regiments which had been raised for the suppression of the Jacobite rebellion (ib. xiii. 1387-91 ;, Letters, i. 400). Pitt appears to have 'alternately bullied and flattered' Pelham in order to obtain the post of secretary of war (ib. i. 400, 405). Pelham was inclined to yield, but the king still objected strongly to Pitt, and the ministers, hearing of the king's intention to dismiss them, resigned office in February 1746. On the failure of Granville and Bath to form an administration Pelham returned to power, and Pitt was reluctantly appointed by the king joint vice-treasurer of Ireland with George, third earl of Cholmondeley, on 22 Feb. 1746 (, Pelham Administration, 1829, i. 292-6). Though not gratified to the extent of his wishes, Pitt zealously defended the ministerial measures, and in April supported the employment of eighteen thousand Hanoverians in Flanders. He spoke so well on this occasion that Pelham told the Duke of Newcastle that he 'had the dignity of Sir William Wyndham, the wit of Mr. Pulteney, and the knowledge and judgment of Sir Robert Walpole' (ib. i. 309). On 6 May 1746 he was promoted to the important post of paymaster-general of the forces, and on the 24th of the same month was sworn a member of the privy council. Greatly to his honour, and unlike his predecessors, Pitt declined to accept a farthing from his new office beyond the salary legally attaching to it. He refused either to appropriate to himself the interest of the huge balances in his hands, or to accept the commission of one half per cent, which foreign powers had been accustomed to pay on receipt of their subsidies. Owing to this disinterested conduct, Pitt, notwithstanding the grave inconsistencies of which he had been guilty since Granville's downfall, secured a large share of the public confidence. At the general election in June 1747 Pitt was returned, through the influence of the government, for Seaford. The Duke of Newcastle is said to have personally interfered in the election in his behalf, but the petition against his return was dismissed by a majority of 151 votes (Parl. Hist. xiv. 101-8). He continued to give a zealous support to the Pelhams, but, in spite of his abject submission, he failed to overcome the king's aversion (Chatham Correspondence, 1838-40, i. 49). At the opening of the session in January 1751 Pitt warmly defended the new treaties with Spain and Bavaria, and declared that he was no longer an advocate for resisting the right of search claimed by Spain (Parl. Hist. xiv. 798-804). He opposed the ministerial plan for the reduction of the naval establishment, because of his 'fears of Jacobitism.' No other ground, he protested, would have induced him 'to differ with those with whom I am determined to lead my life' (, Memoirs of the Pelham Administration, ii. 143-4 ;, Letters, ii. 239-40). On 22 Feb. he supported the Bavarian subsidy 'in a good but too general speech' (, Memoirs of the Reign of George II, 1847, i. 49 ; Parl. Hist. xiv. 963-70). During this session the long-smothered rivalry between Pitt and Henry Fox (afterwards first baron Holland) [q. v.] became very apparent, especially in the discussion of the Regency Bill, necessitated by the death of the Prince of Wales (, Letters, ii. 242;, Diary, 1784, p. 121). On Pelham's death in March 1754 the Duke of Newcastle was appointed first lord of the treasury ; but, much to Pitt's resentment, this change brought him no promotion. At the general election in the following month he was returned to the House of Commons for Aldborough, a pocket borough belonging to the Duke of Newcastle. On 14 Nov. he obtained leave to bring in a bill for the relief of the Chelsea out-pensioners (Parl. Hist. xv. 374-5), which passed through both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent in the following month (28 George II, cap. i). Reconciled for a time by their common interest, Pitt and Fox vied with each other in ridiculing Sir Thomas Robinson, to whom Newcastle had entrusted the leadership of the House of Commons. On 25 Nov. Pitt suddenly startled the commons by an attack upon the duke himself. In a remarkable speech he called on the