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PIT naturally connected himself with that section of the opposition which was composed of the old followers of his father, headed by the celebrated earl of Shelburne. His first speech, which was delivered on the 20th of February, 1781, in favour of Burke's plan of economical reform, produced a most favourable impression upon his audience, and induced Burke to declare that the youthful orator was not a chip of the old block, but the old block itself. His subsequent appearances fully justified the warm eulogiums of his allies, and placed him at once, as Fox remarked, among; the first men in parliament. On the downfall of Lord North's ministry in 1781, Pitt was offered by Lord Rockingham the comfortable and lucrative office of vice-treasurer of Ireland, but the office was at once declined. He had resolved, he said, to accept no post which did not entitle him to a seat in the cabinet. He does not appear to have regretted this decision, but he deeply regretted the declaration which accompanied it. He had no sooner uttered the words, he said, than he would have given the world to recall them. His general politics at this period were exceedingly liberal. He supported the proposal to shorten the duration of parliaments, proposed that a committee should be appointed to take into consideration the state of the representation, and denounced in strong terms the close boroughs, "the strongholds of that corruption, to which he attributed all the calamities of the nation." At this period, indeed, his zeal for reform was so great that he took a prominent part in some proceedings out of doors, for the promotion of that object. The death of Lord Rockingham dissolved the government in the short space of three months. Lord Shelburne was appointed his successor; and Fox and Burke, with their adherents, having refused to act under him, the new premier offered the office of chancellor of the exchequer to Pitt, who accepted it without hesitation, though he had scarcely completed his twenty-third year. On the new administration devolved the duty of terminating the war with the revolted colonies. Fox himself had declared that peace upon any terms was indispensable under the present circumstances of the country, and the government lost no time in bringing to a termination the negotiations which had been commenced under Rockingham, by acknowledging the independence of the United States, and ceding to France and Spain some places in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico, which had been won from these powers in previous wars. But though the terms were quite as advantageous as it was possible in the circumstances of the case to obtain, the treaty was unpopular in the country, and the ministry were anxious to strengthen themselves by a junction with Fox and his adherents. A negotiation for that purpose was entered into between the whig leader and the young chancellor of the exchequer; but it failed in consequence of Fox's insisting on Lord Shelburne's resignation as a sine qua non. "I did not come here to betray Lord Shelburne," said Pitt, and immediately took his departure. The great rivals never again met in a private room. Immediately on the failure of this negotiation the notorious coalition between Fox and Lord North was formed, which in the end proved most injurious to the character and the interests of both parties. Its immediate effect, however, was to drive Lord Shelburne from power. A resolution censuring the treaties of peace was carried, and the government resigned. The king, acting by the advice of Henry Dundas, offered to Pitt the post of first minister; but though many of his friends advised him to accept the offer, and the king himself entreated the young statesman to accede to his wishes, Pitt had the wisdom firmly to decline. He saw clearly that his time was not come, and that the coalition must be tried in office before public opinion would support the sovereign in his contest with the majority of the house of commons. The king was therefore compelled, most reluctantly, to give way. The duke of Portland was nominated premier, with Fox and North as secretaries of state. Pitt, however, pointedly refused to become the recognized leader of the opposition, and declared with emphasis "that he should keep himself reserved, and act with whichever side he thought did right." He renewed his motion for parliamentary reform, which was as distasteful to the great body of the opposition as it was to the friends of Lord North, and though supported by Fox, was lost by a majority of nearly two to one.

During the recess Pitt, in company with Wilberforce, visited the continent for the first and only time of his life, and was received in France with great distinction, both by men of letters and of fashion. There appeared to be so little prospect of his speedy return to power, that he determined to resume the exercise of his profession. The government was strong in both houses of parliament, while the opposition was motley and divided. But the coalition was unpopular in the country, as well as among the decided members of both political parties, and the king was eagerly watching for an opportunity of ejecting from office a ministry whom he heartily detested. That opportunity was soon afforded by the introduction of Fox's famous India bill, which elicited a perfect storm of indignation. In spite of all opposition, however, it passed the house of commons by great majorities. But when it reached the lords intimation was privately given by Lord Temple, Pitt's cousin, that his majesty had authorized him to state that he would consider all who voted for the measure as his enemies. The bill was in consequence rejected, on the 17th of December, by a majority of nineteen. On the following day Lord North and Mr. Fox were directed to send their seals of office to his majesty by their under-secretaries, and Pitt was appointed first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. The position of the young minister was both difficult and perilous; without the aid of a single eminent speaker he had to contend against a large majority of the house of commons, led by the most eloquent orators and experienced statesmen of the day. Even his courage almost failed him. But whatever may for a moment have been his secret misgivings, his language indicated nothing but indomitable resolution and unwavering confidence. The contest, which lasted nearly four months, was fought with consummate ability on both sides, but with superior judgment on the part of Pitt. The opposition carried address after address to the crown to remove ministers, but the king and the youthful premier stood firm. Meanwhile it became evident that if a majority of the representatives were against Pitt, the nation was in his favour. Addresses were sent up from all parts of the country, applauding his policy and condemning the coalition. The hostile majority dwindled down from one hundred and four to one; and at length the premier, having by his masterly policy suffered the opposition to waste their strength, and to alienate the public still farther by their violent and reckless attacks on the royal prerogative and on the constitution, dissolved the parliament on the 24th of March, 1784, and appealed to the country. The response was in the highest degree satisfactory, both to the king and his advisers. Not less than one hundred and sixty members who had supported the coalition, lost their seats, and were in consequence wittily designated "Fox's martyrs." The supremacy of Mr. Pitt for life was thus secured, and the whig party completely disorganized, and condemned to the "cold shade of opposition" for nearly half a century.

From this period onward a history of Pitt's life would, it has been justly said, be a history of England, or rather of the whole civilized world. During the first nine years of his administration the country was peaceful and prosperous. Her manufactures flourished, her trade increased by nearly a third, the public revenue was largely augmented, while the expenditure remained stationary. Pitt was an enlightened and zealous friend of free trade, and one of the earliest objects that attracted his attention was the reform of the commercial code, which at that time stifled the industry of the country. His proposal to place Ireland on an equal footing with England, and to allow that country to share in the benefits of the colonial trade, was thwarted by the factious opposition of Fox and his followers; but a new and liberal commercial treaty with France met with better success. A new constitution was framed for the East India Company; a new sinking fund was established, not on sound principles, however; the customs were consolidated, and various minor administrative reforms introduced, during this period of tranquillity. The country was as highly respected and feared abroad as it was prosperous at home, and the continental powers stood nearly as much in awe of her first minister as they had done of his great father. The insanity of the king towards the end of 1788 seemed for a brief space likely to arrest Pitt's career in the full tide of his success, but in its ultimate result it greatly augmented his fame and consolidated his power. Fox and his friends, in their eagerness for office, fell into the fatal blunder of asserting that the prince of Wales had as express a right to assume the reins of government, during the illness or incapacity of the king, as in the case of his majesty's natural demise. Pitt, on the other hand, maintained the supreme authority of the two houses of parliament to determine in such a case who should be regent, and with what portion of the executive authority such regent