Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/92

* PITT. 68 Ills iinpastiioned eloquence was unable to move sucli a small body of men as were aocustoiued to attend the House of Lords. Ill lu-alth pre- vented t'batliani from taking an active part in the Ministry, of which he was nominally the head, and he resigned on October 14, 1708, never to hold odice aj;ain. (.'hatha m, however, did not cease to take an interest in ]uib]ic alTairs. He spoke strongly against the arbitrary and harsh policy of the (Joveriunent of Lord North toward the American colonies, and did his utmost to procure an amicable settlement of the diilerences, declaring that "Kngland had no right, under heaven to tax the colonists." But when America entered into a treaty with France, and it was proposed to remove the Ministers and make peace on any terms, Chatham, tbough in a dying state, ap- pealed in the House of Lords, and in a |)oerful address protested against the disruption of the Empire and the implied prostration of Great Britain before France. It was the orator's last effort; exhausted by speaking, on rising again to reply to a (|uery addressed to him, he suddenly fell back into the arms of bis friends. He died a few da.vs later. -May 11. 177S. He was hon- ored with a public fimeral in Westminster Abbey. where a statue was erected to his nieniory at the public expense. In addition, the Government gave £20,000 to i)ay his debts, and conferred a pension of £4000 a year on his descendants. I'itt's appearance was dignified and imposing, and addeil greatly to the attractiveness of his oratory, which was of the most ])0werful kind. His uprightness and irrepmai-lialile character compelled the admiration of his enemies: but bis affectation and haiiglitiness frcqiieiitlv ilisgustcd his friends. He bad an intense love of country, his ambition being to make bis native land safe against all contingencies. Maeaulav's "Chatham" is a very interesting essay. Consult also: Thackera.v, Hislori/ of the Earl of Chatham (2 vols., London, 1S27) ; Cob- hett, I'drliaiiiinlarj/ History I London, 180U-20) ; Horace Walpole, IJrttim (o'vols., London. ISSO) ; id., ill amirs of the ltii(in of drori/r II. (.3 vols., London, 184S-r)l ) ; Green, Williinn I'ilt. Earl of Chatham (London, 1901); Leck.v, History of Eiifiland in thr Eiqhtvvnth Cciitii'n) (0 vols., .3d ed.. London. IS.S.'MIO). PITT, WlLLi.VM (1759-1800). A celebrated English statesman, often referred to as the .young- er Pitt to distinguish him from bis father, Wil- liam Pitt, first Karl of Chatham. He was born May 28. 1759, on his father's estate at Ha.ves. His mother was a sister of the well-known states- man (ieorgc (Jreiiville (([.v.). Pitt, on account of his delicate health, was educated at first at home, but when fourteen years of age he was matricu- lated at Pembroke Hall, Cnmbriil,i.'e. He gradu- ated in 1770, receiving an M. A., and then studied law, and in 1780 was admitted to the bar. In the same year he was elected to Parliament, taking his seat on .January 23, 1781. He iniinediatelv joined the party that had followed his father, and hence was in opposition to the Government of Lord Xorth. His maiden speech made a very favorable impression: and wlicn in 17S2 Rocking- ham formed a new Administration, Pitt was of- fered a well-paying subordinate position, but, though poor, he declined it. He had decided that he would accept nothing except a Cabinet office. PITT. On May 7, 1782, Pitt made his first motion for a reform in the representation to Parliament. The motion was lost by a narrow margin, the vote being 161 against 141. The reformers did not make so good a showing again until 1881. Three months after his accession to office. Rock- ingham died, and Lord Shelburne became Prime Minister, while Pitt, though only twenty-three years of age, became Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Cabinet was met by a formidable coalition led by Charles James Fox (q.y.) and Lord North, and in 1783 Shelburne resigned, (icorge HI. offered Pitt the Premiershii), but he declined, as he was not certain of the consistent support of the dominant factors in Parliament. The result was a coalition Ministry under the Duke of Port- land, in which Fox and North were the lc;iders. Pitt on May 7, 1783, again brought forward the question of Parlianientar.v reform, but, though his plan this time was a definite and well-ordered one, the motion was lost by 293 to 149. After Parliament bad been prorogued Pitt visited the Continent, and was well received. On December 19, 1783, the coalition Ministry was dismissed after the defeat of a bill in the House of Lords, which aimed to transfer the Govern- ment of India to Parliament. Thereupon Pitt assumed the Premiership in the face of a power- ful opposition in the House of Commons. His position was a desperate one. The House of Commons resented the interference of the King, whose action was of doubtful constitutionality. M Between December 17, 1783, and March 8. 1784, | Pitt was defeated in 16 divisions. The onI.y re- course was either to resign or to order a new election; but Pitt postponed the election as long as possible. When at last he saw that the cur- rent of popular opinion had set in bis favor, be dissolved Parliament, and the election proved to be a triumph for his Administration, he himself being returned for the LTniversit.y of Cambridge, for which he sat for the rest of his life. Pitt was twenty-five years old at this time and the most powerful subject that England had had for generations. He ruled absolutel.v over the Cabinet, and was at once the favorite of the sovereign, of Parliament, and of the nation; and henceforth his life is identical to a great extent with the bistor.y of England. When Parliament met, Pitt's first work was the ordering of the finances, for there had been enormous deficits for many years. In this he was very successful. In 1784 he established a new constitution for the East India Company, the Board of Control being instituted. In 1785 he introduced his third re- form bill, providing for the purchase of sevent.y- two 'rotten borouglis.' but the bill failed to pass, and the outbreak of the French Revolution soon after put an end for many years to serious .at- empts at Parliamentary reform. Pitt was the first British statesman to attempt to put into practice the principles enunciated in 1770 by Adam Smith. His bill, however, providing for free trade between England and Ireland failed in 1785. In the following year Pitt was suc- cessful in negotiating a liberal commercial treaty with France. In 1792 he supported Wil- berforce's proposal for the abolition of the slave trade, but be could not carry the House of Commons with him. In the war between France on the one side and Austria and Prussia on the other he maintained strict neutrality so long .as he was able, but the Paris massacres