Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 45.djvu/390

 Pitt re-entered office as first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer on 10 May 1804; his cabinet consisted of twelve members, of whom he and Castlereagh alone were in the commons ; six were members of the late government, the rest were chosen from his own following; it was therefore neither comprehensive nor thoroughly homogeneous. Arrayed against him were three parties, respectively headed in the commons by Addington, Windham, and Fox. The return to a more vigorous policy was at once apparent. In June the government's Additional Force Bill, although attacked by all three parties in opposition, was carried after a sharp struggle. At the close of the session Pitt went to Walmer, but as he was constantly needed in London, he rented a house on Putney Heath, that he might have country air while attending to his official duties. Pitt was endeavouring to form a third coalition against France. The negotiations proceeded slowly. A preliminary agreement was formed between Russia and Austria in November; but Prussia stood aloof, and Russia was offended by the British capture of the Spanish treasure-ships. Spain declared war against Great Britain on 3 Dec. On 19 Jan. 1805 Pitt, being assured of the goodwill of Austria, formally invited the accession of Russia (, vi. 391-3). The Anglo-Russian convention was signed on 11 April ; Sweden and Austria also entered the alliance. Pitt had during the summer of 1804 also been engaged in negotiating a reconciliation between the king and the Prince of Wales, and he seems to have made some inquiry as to the possibility of obtaining the support of the prince's friends, but was answered in the negative (Court and Cabinets, iii. 373-6). His ministry needed strengthening. Unable to obtain aid elsewhere, he communicated with Addington, who accepted a peerage, as Viscount Sidmouth, and entered the cabinet on obtaining a promise from Pitt that some of his friends and relatives should receive secondary offices as soon as possible (Life of Sidmouth, ii. 324-44). Pitt and Addington had a personal reconciliation on 23 Dec. On the opening of the next session the opposition in the commons showed some vigour, but on 11 Feb. 1805 Pitt obtained a majority on the Spanish war of 313 to 106. On the 18th he expounded his budget; the estimates were enormous, the total charges, exclusive of the interest on debts, being put at forty-four millions. A loan of twenty millions was announced, and, to meet the interest, augmentations were made to postage and various duties; the property tax was also increased by twenty-five per cent. During this session most of the ministerial departments depended on Pitt for inspiration, and the incessant work told heavily on his declining health. By the end of 1804 he felt the need of rest and solitude. His physicians urged another visit to Bath, but he was kept in London by the negotiations with Russia. Again at Easter 1805 he was detained by public business. Pitt was much harassed by the charges brought against his old friend Melville [see under, first ] then first lord of the admiralty. Convinced that Melville had not 'pocketed any public money,' he determined to support him. Sidmouth, however, by a threat of resignation, forced him to agree to a select committee of inquiry (, i. 546-7). On 8 April 1805 he advocated this course as against a motion for censure. When the speaker, the numbers on division being equal, gave his casting vote for the censure, one of Pitt's friends saw 'the tears trickling down his cheeks.' Some young members of his party formed a circle round him, and in their midst he walked out of the house shielded from the brutal curiosity of his opponents. His mortification probably helped to shorten his life (, iv. 347). During the further proceedings against Melville, a question was raised as to an advance that Pitt had in 1796 made from the navy funds to certain contractors for a public loan ; no imputation was made on his integrity. He admitted that he had acted irregularly for the benefit of the country, and a bill of indemnity was passed unanimously. On 14 May he spoke against the catholic petition presented by Fox, referred to his previous policy, and declared that a revival of the catholic claims would be useless, and would only create discord.

When Melville resigned, Sidmouth demanded an appointment that would have placed office at the disposal of one of his relatives. Pitt refused to act on the suggestion, and Sidmouth, who charged him with a breach of the agreement made in December, threatened with his follower, Lord Buckinghamshire, to retire. Pitt persuaded Sidmouth to remain (26 April), promising that his friends should be at liberty to vote as they pleased on Melville's impeachment, and that their claims should be considered. But despite professions of good feeling, their mutual relations were unstable. Sidmouth's brother, Hiley Addington, and Bond, one of his party, pressed matters against Melville with such violence that Pitt declared that 'their conduct must be marked,' and that he