VOL. VIII. No. 5.] LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1805. [PRICE JUD. "The main principle of THE FAMILY" [the Pitts and the Addingtons]," is, that all the power and “empluments of the government of this kingdom constantly belong, of right, to the different members of "The Family, who, however they may disagree as to the distribution, ought on no account, to suffer any "portion of this their inheritance to fall into the hands of any other persons but themselves. This principle "seents to be so firmaly fixed in the minds of the persons who have adopted it, that, upon whatever arises "fably thereout, they, whenever an occasion offers, argue, as upon a self-evident position. Whoever has "paid the slightest attention to their language, must have perceived, that they always talk of the 44 government as of something which is theirs; that they reason as if it were admitted, as a matter of course, "that some of them must be our rulers; and that the only question for both them ail us to consider, is, which of them are the persons most proper, or, whose turn it is, to rule over us."-POLITICAL REGISTER, 5 Jan. 1805: Vol. VII. p. 14. 1611 SUMMARY OF POLITICS. FAMILY QUARREL.When the recent rupture between the Pitts and Dundases and the Addingtons first took place, I was strongly inclined, as were most other impartial persons, to attribute it solely to the aversion which the latter felt at being called upon to follow Mr. Pitt through his measures relative to the Melvilles and the Athols. But, after all that has been now said on one side and on the other; after listening to both with great attention and perfect impartiality; and after making such inquiries as appeared to me necessary, and as it came within my power to make: after all this, I must say, and say it with some degree of sorrow, that I am fully convinced, that the quarrel and separation are not to be ascribed solely to the motives alleged by the Addington writers; but, that, on the contrary, no inconsiderable part of the cause, will at last be found, in Mr. Pitt's refusal to give to the Addingtons that share of power and of emolument which they claimed. Before I proceed to submit to the reader the grounds of this my conviction, it will be proper to continue on the history of the quarrel, as it has made its appearance in the public prints, from the point where we broke off, in p 82, to the present time; and, I must take the liberty, once more to beg the reader's attention to it; for, though the parliament not being assembled renders the subject of less immediate importance than it otherwise would be, we must recollect, that, before six months have passed, it will become a subject upon which every public man must form an opinion whereon to act; unless, indeed, he be one of those who have no opinions of their own, or, in the class of those miserable creatures, who, having an opinion, dare not act according to it.We shail perceive, by making the reference which I have just taken the liberty to point out, that the TIMES news paper, that is, the print devoted to the Addingtons, had the last word; and, that it [162 concluded its observations, by talking about "the self-devotedness of Lord Sidmouth "sending corruption to the tribunals ;" about "the proud and almost lest convic"tion that there exists a minister superior "to the charms of power and of office, and "resolute to obtain justice to his country at "the expense of importance, emolument, 66 dignity, and the beloved presence of an of fectionate master;" about " the sweet "consolation existing in the public heart, "that, in the cabinet itself" (wonderful ! "the laws and the interests of a generous 66 people, bending under the weight of their "contributions, have found a friend and a "powerful defender." A great deal of this is cant; absolute palaver and blarney, as the soldiers and sailors call it; and, I think it must be allowed, that none of it is very modest. But, before we indulge ourselves in any comment upon this panegyric, let us again hear what the battling partisans have to say for their chiefs and against their op ponents.The first three paragraphs are taken from the TIMES of the 18th, the 228, and the 24th instant; and the last is taken from the SUN of the 26th." The Ex-Jaco"bin, hardly Ex-Jacobin, papers have made 66 a violent outery against another outcry of "their own, namely, that the Prince of "Wales was informed of Lord Sidmouth's resignation before his Majesty or Mr. Pitt. "We distinctly and unequivocally pledge our character and credit, that a falser or more, base and low invention, never yet "insulted the public credulity. We desire "to share the intamy of the desperate party, "that has no hope of preserving any corner "in the opinion of the public, if we do not "speak the naked truth, in assorting, that "his Royal Highness was not informed of "that event till many hours after it had "taken place, and then not officially, or by any authority, commission, or message "whatsoever; and that the communication alluded to (such as it was) did not reach F enjoy the credit of having resigned their "offices," rather than screen Lord Mel"ville." It will not, however, we are con"fident, be denied by Mr. Pitt, that had 66 we as gentlemen, and it is the duty of those "who resign offices, to decline receiving "official confidence and communications. "We confine ourselves to plain facts; "leave to the partisans of corruption to dis they concurred in his wish to “screen "Lord Melville" from any criminal prose"cution, those differences would not have arisen, which were the "real" and im"mediate causes of their resignation. On "the part of Lord Sidmouth there was no "attempt, or "desire, to dictate, and do"mineer in the cabinet:" it was the funda "mental diversity of opinion between his lordship and Mr. Pitt, upon the points arising out of the Tenth Report, and the "line of conduct to be consequently taken "in parliament, which led to the late changes in the government. The writer "in question endeavours to involve the "friends of Lord Sidmouth in an incon sistency, in consequence of their vote on "the 8th of April. But this attempt is con"tradicted by facts notorious to every mem"ber of the House of Commons. 4t is not 68 true, that " they would not vote Lord "Melville guilty of a gross violation of the law, and a high breach of duty," but "they were decidedly of opinion that nọ "judgment ought to be passed on any part "of Lord Melville's conduct, till the whole "had been investigated by a Select Com"mittee of the House of Commons, so con"stituted as to be free from the possible im"putation of bias, or partiality line of " conduet, which every dispassionate man now regrets was not adopted, as that which ultimately was best suited to the attainment of striet justice between the "public and Lord Melville. But the audacity of this writer is carried to its highest pitch, when he ventures to ask, not Lord Melville given up by the cabinet?” and when he asserts, that “the cabinet have given Lord Melville up to impeachment." It is notorious, that Mr. "Pitt and his adherents endeavoured to pre" vent any process whatever against Lord "Melville, either by impeachment or cri 86 minal information: but they proved, by "their votes on Mr. Bond's motion for an "amendment, that of the two modes, they were most averse to the former. They "afterwards, however, changed their minds, " and when a large proportion of the ma jority, who voted for a criminal prosecu"tion, had left London, a motion for re"scinding the resolution of the former night was brought forward, and in a "House composed of not many more mem "bers than the majority who had divided "for the criminal prosecution, the vote, by "which it was ordered, was rescinded, and an impeachment was substituted in its "place a proceeding of which there is no " example, and which has sunk deep into "the mind of every one who feels for the "honour and consistency of parliament. It " is, however, to the friends of Lord Sid"mouth, and to the members of opposi "tion, that the triumph of public justice is "to be exclusively attributed. Without "them, the delinquency of Lord Melville "would have been left to the inadequate "operation of a civil process; without them there would have been no criminal prose"cution whatever. They all gave a deci"sive proof of their sincerity, by declaring, that, whatever might be their preference " of one mode to another, they would sup"port either an impeachment, or an infor"mation, rather than forego the certainty "of some criminal prosecution. This, in "the language of the Courier, is " a giving up of Lord Melville by the cabinet, as "well as by parliament, to those who had * pursued him most keenly!" That the Addingtons, by their upright conduct, by this steady adherence to their public du"ty, have given "mortal offence," we do "not pretend to deny; and it is too mani fest that their continuance in office had "therefore become impossible. Upon whom the imputation of taking others by surprise ought justly to rest, the public 11 determine. It cannot attach on the freds of Lord Sidmouth; for it is false to state, that they brought forward the motion for a criminal prosecution, without the knowledge of their colleagues. "Their intentions were previously and dis tinctly communicated to Mr. Pitt, and he "will not deny the fact The report of "Lord Sidmouth having made a commurti❝cation to the Prince of Wales, before he "notified to Mr. Pitt his intention to re sign, or his Majesty had actually accepted "his resignation, is now so generally known to be untrue, upon the most unquestion"able authority, that we shall offer no comment upon it. On the concluding obser"vations of this writer, we will content "ourselves with asserting, that Lord Sit mouth and his friends worship Lo sing "Sun. By whom that species of adoration "is likely to be paid, may, perhaps, ere lotig "be discl sed. Lord Sidmouth, and eli "connected with him, feel the respect that " is due to the Heir Apparent of the Briti "Throne; but they know to whom their 66 highest duty is owing, and it never has "been, and never will be, justly imputca "to them, that they have failed in a firni "and zealous discharge of it. Their real "crimes are, independence of mind, consis tency of public conduct, and a determined "opposition to personal corruption, private "jobs, and political depravity!!! Aud this, observe, from the Addingtons to Mr. Pitt! The Heaven-born minister!" The "calumnies and misrepresentations with " which Lord Sidmouth and his friends havė "lately been a sailed by the adherents of "Lord Melville, and his associates, Inté "recoiled upon their own bosoms; their "detected iies, their perfidious perversions "of the truth, and the malignant, rencorous character of their libels, have clearlý pointed out the authors to the flagrant ndignation of the public. It may not, "however, be superfluons to recapitulaté "the points upon which the "heroes of "the fifth clause" have undertaken. “ to go "forth and be lying spirits" in the month of "all the Journalists. That we may do so "with the least possible efl'ence to our con temporaries, we shall omit all formal no"tice of what they have asserted, confining "curselves to what is at length universally "admitted to be true. It is acknowledged, "that from the beginning, the very first "publication of the Tenth Report, Mr. Pitt "determined to screen Lord Melville.-SE CONDLY. That to prevent this resold"s tion, Lord Sidmouth insisted upen and carried in the cabinet, that the whole case "should be sent to a Select Committee of "the House of Commons; which was not "to be packed and ballotted to whitewash * Lord Melville, but to be coraposed of the Isading members of both sides of the * House, and of Mr. Fox, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Whitbread in particular, THIRDLY: That when the ministers lost this "motion in the House, and the votes of censure, and for a civil proceeding, were carried, the Select Committee (although not chosen as it would have been in the first case, and fettered from inquiring into "the profits made by Lord Melville from the naval money) did, in fact, discover so "much (the burning of the vouchers in particular) as made it impossible for them (although they chose not to make any re.co port) to screen Lord Melville.-FOURTHSLY. That the influence of Lord Sid mouth, which prevented Mr. Pitt from "the course he intended to take, saved him "the government, and, perhaps, the country, on the 8th of April.FIFTHLY. That from the day of that memorable vote, Mr. Pitt has omitted no attempt to "snatch Lord Melville from trial; some times pretending he had incurred no mo ral guilt, and at other times that he had "been punished sufficiently, and always "endeavouring to involve and perplex the House in their own proceedings, until he finally cancelled the vote of the greatest "House ever assembled, upon the motion " for a criminal information, and carried "that of impeachment (against which he "had himself voted), by surprise. SIXTH"LY.-That from the same day to the mo❝ment of their resignation, Lord Sidmouth and his friends have exerted all their influence in the cabinet, to prevent this great abuse, as well as to defeat the waste "of the public contributions, of which they opposed the last glaring instance in the case of the Duke of Athol.-SeventhLY. That, with much attention and civility Lord Sidmouth and his friends never failed distinctly to give previous intima❝tion to Mr. Pitt, of all the motions or amendments they found it imposed upon them to propose of the motion for a criminal information in particular; upon which occasion Mr. Pitt publicly retracted, in the House of Commons, his assertions to the contrary.- EIGHTHLY. "That when Lord Sidmouth saw all his friends and colleagues, and measures, insulted and threatened, and calumniated ; ◄ and when he determined, in consequence, "to resign his distinguished office into the King's hands, he superfluously, out of mere politeness and attention, acquainted Mr. Pitt with his resolution, both a considerable time before, and at the instant of his going into the closet. NINTHLY. That Mr. Pitt, who had an audience "of his Majesty, immediately upon his lordship's leaving the room, was informed "of the fact having taken place.TenthLY. That Sir Stephen Cottrell and Mr. "Falkner, were informed to the same ef fect, by Lord Sidmouth, upon coming out "of the King's presence, in order that they "should no longer transmit to his lordship "the papers and business of the privy council-ELEVENTHLY. That no.com“munication: whatsoever was transmitted by Lord Sidmouth to his Royal Highness "the Prince of Wales, relative to this event; " and that, in point of fact, no information "(however indirect and informal) reached "the Prince until many hours after the re"signation had taken place.-TWELFTHLY. "That from the moment of Lord Sid"mouth's resignation, it has appeared of "the utmost importance to the Melville 66 part of the ministry, to conceal and belie "the true causes of it."- -Thus far the TIMES. The following is from the SUN of the date abovementioned. "It has been of"ten observed, that injudicious friends are "likely to injure rather than to serve the object of their partiality. It has been "also as often observed, that ary laborious attempts to defend a cause, rather tend to "excite suspicions which otherwise perhaps "might not have arisen. Both of these re"marks are peculiarly applicable to the lite rary advocates of Lord Sidmouth, who, "by all their persevering zeal in defence of "his resignation, have drawn more atten"tion to the subject than the noble lord p 66 pro bably required, and who have certainly "not illustrated the motives of that resigna "tion in such a manner as to bring any ad "dition of credit to his lordship's character. "No less than twelve causes have been as "signed for his lordship's retirement, not one of which, we believe, was the imme "diate cause of it. -For our own part, we certainly do not think that his lord"ship possesses any qualities that give him "extraordinary pretensions to public no "tice, or that would exalt his conduct into any importance, if it were not for the res "lation which it bears to the man to whom "he has been essentially indebted through "life, and to whom this country is under the "highest obligation for having preserved it "from the misery which has befallen many "other states, and which seems to impend over more.- But among the reasons "which have been assigned for his lordship's retirement, it is somewhat strange that one, which is supposed to have had the greatest weight, by those who are likely to receive their information from a dess ff: partial quarter than the ingenious inventor of the twelve causes, is passed over in total silence. We beg leave to ask the * friend, if friend he may be called, of Lord Sidmouth, who so often favours the pub#flic with a column or two of panegyric on his lordship's prodigious services and elevated virtues (the word gratitude is very #properly never mentioned), whether the nimmediate cause of the resignation, which 66 has been ascribed to so many great and #lofty motives, was not the refusal of Mr. "Pitt to appoint one of his lordship's friends " to a high situation under government?"We presume that the person of whom we "ask this question has it in his power to give an answer, because he appears to be so much in his lordship's confidence, that upon two or three occasions he has pre#sumed to state what his lordship said and "did, even in the cabinet. We are the "more inclined to ask this question, and to "lay some stress upon the refusal alluded "to, because, unless we have been very much misinformed, when his lordship "some months ago threatened the public "with such a lamentable event as his resig pation, the cause of his anger was said to ❝have arisen from a similar disregard of his recommendation of another friend to a "seat in the Admiralty. When we hear "the answer of the long-winded advocate, "who, like Yorick's Starling, seems to "have but one cry, though the reverse in"deed of that celebrated bird's, we shall "probably be tempted to renew the sub"ject."- When persons of a certain description fall out, "honest men," it is said, "get their due;" a saying the truth of which has now been verified in the quarrels of these political partisans, making, as I evidently do not, any allusion, here, to the principals. Through the quarrels of these partisans it has come out, that every subject of his Majesty, though a minister of state, ought to treat the Prince of Wales" with "great attention and respect;" and, it has further been acknowledged, that the efforts of the Opposition, have been virtuous, pafotriotic, loyal;" and such as are calculated to prevent the people from despairing of being rescued from their present miserable and disgraced condition. The public will recollect, too, that these acknowledgments come from the partisans of the Addingtons'; that they come from that same Times newspaper, which has been abusing the Opposi ion for these four years past, except the short space last year, while Mr. Addington and his people were out of office; nay, the public should be informed, that they come from the "NEar Observer" himself, for he is the person who writes the greater part of these articles taken from the TIMES. The other daywe quoted some acknowledgments of the same sort from the ORACLE; So that we have now the NEAR OBSERVER and the UPSTART, who upon every other subject are as wide as the poles asunder, concurring in acknowledgments in honour of the Opposition. The observations to be made on the extracts above quoted naturally divide themselves into two heads: 1. The time and manner of Lord Sidmouth's announcing the intention of himself and his friends to resign. And, this part of the subject is now reduced to the mere question, whether his lordship did, or did not, notify his intention to the Prince previous to his having actually resigned. The TIMES says, that "the Prince was not informed of it, till many hours "after it had taken place, and then not officially, or by any authority, commis"sion, or message whatever," This, says that paper, "is the naked truth Not quite so naked as one could wish it, nor quite so naked as I will now state it, agreeably to the information which I have obtained, and which I believe to be perfectly. correct. It is true, that Lord Sidmouth did not make any official communication of his intention to the Prince; but, being in conversation with Mr. Sheridan, previous to his having actually resigned, he informed that gentleman of his intention,, and, upon being asked, if there was any thing improper in the Prince's being immediately informed of it, answered in the negative, This is the account given by the friends of Lord Sidmouth; and, as I before stated, I am fully persuaded, that it is correct. The information to the Prince was not, therefore, "cial;" neither was it given to his Royal Highness by any " commission from his lordship, nor was it conveyed in any mes offi sage;" but, while the denial of the Addingtons is true as to the letter, I am afraid, that, as to the spirit, the truth of it will be greatly doubted. What Lord Sidmouth's object might be, we cannot be certain; and, most assuredly, to have given to the HeirApparent an intimation of his intention to resign, would have discovered no want of attachment to the King, but, seeing how very anxious his lordship's partisans are to repre sent him as abhorring all appearance of "worshipping the rising Sun, it does seem to me, and I think it will seem to the reader, something rather singular, if not wonderful, that he should have chosen. Mr. Sheridan for his confident upon this particular occasion. They met by accident. Very |