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Home Domestic Affairs, 1760-1815 1760-1815; Part 8 |
1760-1815; Part 8With the accession of Pitt, though the king was still able to exercise at times very great influence, his system of personal government came to an end. For one thing, the king had a minister whom he trusted; and for another, he could not afford to quarrel with Pitt, for if so he would have been thrown back on the Whig opposition. Moreover, the king's health began to decline. Brain troubles incapacitated him for a time in 1788. Increasing blindness, which became serious in 1805, made him retire more and more from public business. After 1811 the madness which had so long threatened led to his complete withdrawal, the Prince of Wales for the remainder of the reign acting as regent, under conditions, however, which left the chief power with the ministers.Pitt, during the first ten years of his administration, till the outbreak of the war with France in 1793, was able to do much for his country. As a financier, his only equal was Walpole. Although, owing to the Industrial Revolution (Ch. XLIII), times were fairly prosperous, Pitt found our system of national finance very faulty. By simplifying the duties on certain articles, and abolishing and reducing those on others, he not only diminished the opportunities of smuggling, but did a good deal towards remedying the evils of over-protection, the disadvantages of which had been shown in a famous book, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, published in 1776. Pitt also made with France a commercial treaty to encourage exports and imports with that country. Moreover, he did something to reduce the National Debt, while his administration was economically conducted. But for considerable opposition Pitt might have made greater reforms. He brought forward a bill for parliamentary reform, disfranchising some of the small boroughs; but he was defeated (It must be remembered that in those days members of Parliament were far more independent both of their constituents and of the party "whips" than they are now, and they had no hesitation in voting against any measure of which they disapproved ; thus in the years 1785-6 Pitt failed to carry three important proposals/and he complained with regard to his supporters that "we are hardly sure from day to day what impressions they may receive"). He proposed to establish complete commercial equality between Great Britain and Ireland; but Fox's tongue was too much for the bill. In one matter - in the impeachment of Warren Hastings (1788) - he has been accused of weakness and inconsistency, because he voted in favour of Hastings over the Rohilla charge, and against him on the other charges. But Pitt acted in good faith, and there is no reason to believe, as was often stated, that he was won over to vote against Warren Hastings by his colleague Dundas, who was jealous of Hastings' abilities. It must always be remembered that in the conduct of Indian affairs Pitt carried through an Act for the regulation of India which settled the basis of our government in that country till after the Mutiny of 1857; and that to him was due the appointment of Cornwallis and Wellesley as governors-general. |
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