Untitled - 24grammata.com

INTERESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 441year had not elapsed before he was called uponto form anadministration (Oct. 20, 1756) as secretary of state, whenthe king approved his proposals for filling up the other appointments, which exalted post he retained till Oct. 5, 1761,when he resigned upon finding that his measures were notsupported. The five yearsof his administration was themost brilliant period which Great Britain had yet seen.His panegyrists have not omitted to enumerate the manybattles which were won, the ships which were captured,1the conquests which were made during his administration j.for although he was not the immediate agent in these victories, it was through him that they were achieved. His realmerit may be comprised in two lines.By the greatness ofhis individual character he called up, as by magic, the spiritof his nation. He was a man in the fullest sense of theword. Integrity and independence formed the centre of hiswhole moral system, from which the rays of his genius andof his often admired eloquence emanated no less than fromhis sound political maxims. In proportion as he relied uponhimself, the nation learned to trust to its own strength andenergies. Thus England became familiar with, and accustomed to, the most daring enterprises; thus became improved the discipline of the army and navy and; thus, aboveall, became roused the spirit of the nation : the ministermeanwhile preservingits confidence, by showing himselfanxious on every occasion to appear as the champion of therights and power of the people,in the constitutional senseof the word, rather than as one who wished to court thefavour of the prince, by taking every opportunity to extendthe rights and power of the crown. It was therefore anessential element in the character of Pitt, that he should inhis general policy show little inclination towards the systemof subsidies and mercenary troops, inasmuch as itmightparalyse the self-confidence and independent energy of thenation. But he exhibited also a proof that great minds "donot blindly bind themselves to any particular maxims. Assoon as he could resort to that system without prejudice tothose higher interests, he adoptedit ;and the prudence withwhich he exercised it was as greatas its consequences werefortunate,1A list of them will be found in the Life of Pitt, vol. i. p. 198.