the miscellaneous writings and speeches-3-第32章

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rd　of　the　Admiralty；　and　was　kept　in　that　great　post　during　two　years　of　a　war　in　which　the　very　existence　of　the　state　depended　on　the　efficiency　of　the　fleet。　　He　continued　to　doze　away　and　trifle　away　the　time　which　ought　to　have　been　devoted　to　the　public　service；　till　the　whole　mercantile　body；　though　generally　disposed　to　support　the　government；　complained　bitterly　that　our　flag　gave　no　protection　to　our　trade。　　Fortunately　he　was　succeeded　by　George　Earl　Spencer；　one　of　those　chiefs　of　the　Whig　party　who；　in　the　great　schism　caused　by　the　French　Revolution；　had　followed　Burke。　　Lord　Spencer；　though　inferior　to　many　of　his　colleagues　as　an　orator；　was　decidedly　the　best　administrator　among　them。　　To　him　it　was　owing　that　a　long　and　gloomy　succession　of　days　of　fasting；　and；　most　emphatically；　of　humiliation；　was　interrupted；　twice　in　the　short　space　of　eleven　months；　by　days　of　thanksgiving　for　great　victories。　It　may　seem　paradoxical　to　say　that　the　incapacity　which　Pitt　showed　in　all　that　related　to　the　conduct　of　the　war　is；　in　some　sense；　the　most　decisive　proof　that　he　was　a　man　of　very　extraordinary　abilities。　　Yet　this　is　the　simple　truth。　　For　assuredly　one…tenth　part　of　his　errors　and　disasters　would　have　been　fatal　to　the　power　and　influence　of　any　minister　who　had　not　possessed；　in　the　highest　degree；　the　talents　of　a　parliamentary　leader。　　While　his　schemes　were　confounded；　while　his　predictions　were　falsified；　while　the　coalitions　which　he　had　laboured　to　form　were　falling　to　pieces；　while　the　expeditions　which　he　had　sent　forth　at　enormous　cost　were　ending　in　rout　and　disgrace；　while　the　enemy　against　whom　he　was　feebly　contending　was　subjugating　Flanders　and　Brabant；　the　Electorate　of　Mentz；　and　the　Electorate　of　Treves；　Holland；　Piedmont；　Liguria；　Lombardy；　his　authority　over　the　House　of　Commons　was　constantly　becoming　more　and　more　absolute。　　There　was　his　empire。　　There　were　his　victories；　his　Lodi　and　his　Arcola；　his　Rivoli　and　his　Marengo。　　If　some　great　misfortune；　a　pitched　battle　lost　by　the　allies；　the　annexation　of　a　new　department　to　the　French　Republic；　a　sanguinary　insurrection　in　Ireland；　a　mutiny　in　the　fleet；　a　panic　in　the　city；　a　run　on　the　bank；　had　spread　dismay　through　the　ranks　of　his　majority；　that　dismay　lasted　only　till　he　rose　from　the　Treasury　bench；　drew　up　his　haughty　head；　stretched　his　arm　with　commanding　gesture；　and　poured　forth；　in　deep　and　sonorous　tones；　the　lofty　language　of　inextinguishable　hope　and　inflexible　resolution。　　Thus；　through　a　long　and　calamitous　period；　every　disaster　that　happened　without　the　walls　of　Parliament　was　regularly　followed　by　a　triumph　within　them。　　At　length　he　had　no　longer　an　opposition　to　encounter。　　Of　the　great　party　which　had　contended　against　him　during　the　first　eight　years　of　his　administration　more　than　one　half　now　marched　under　his　standard；　with　his　old　competitor　the　Duke　of　Portland　at　their　head；　and　the　rest　had；　after　many　vain　struggles；　quitted　the　field　in　despair。　　Fox　had　retired　to　the　shades　of　St　Anne's　Hill；　and　had　there　found；　in　the　society　of　friends　whom　no　vicissitude　could　estrange　from　him；　of　a　woman　whom　he　tenderly　loved；　and　of　the　illustrious　dead　of　Athens；　of　Rome；　and　of　Florence；　ample　compensation　for　all　the　misfortunes　of　his　public　life。　　Session　followed　session　with　scarcely　a　single　division。　　In　the　eventful　year　1799；　the　largest　minority　that　could　be　mustered　against　the　government　was　twenty…five。　In　Pitt's　domestic　policy　there　was　at　this　time　assuredly　no　want　of　vigour。　　While　he　offered　to　French　Jacobinism　a　resistance　so　feeble　that　it　only　encouraged　the　evil　which　he　wished　to　suppress；　he　put　down　English　Jacobinism　with　a　strong　hand。　　The　Habeas　Corpus　Act　was　repeatedly　suspended。　　Public　meetings　were　placed　under　severe　restraints。　　The　government　obtained　from　parliament　power　to　send　out　of　the　country　aliens　who　were　suspected　of　evil　designs；　and　that　power　was　not　suffered　to　be　idle。　　Writers　who　propounded　doctrines　adverse　to　monarchy　and　aristocracy　were　proscribed　and　punished　without　mercy。　　It　was　hardly　safe　for　a　republican　to　avow　his　political　creed　over　his　beefsteak　and　his　bottle　of　port　at　a　chop…house。　　The　old　laws　of　Scotland　against　sedition；　laws　which　were　considered　by　Englishmen　as　barbarous；　and　which　a　succession　of　governments　had　suffered　to　rust；　were　now　furbished　up　and　sharpened　anew。　　Men　of　cultivated　minds　and　polished　manners　were；　for　offences　which　at　Westminster　would　have　been　treated　as　mere　misdemeanours；　sent　to　herd　with　felons　at　Botany　Bay。　　Some　reformers；　whose　opinions　were　extravagant；　and　whose　language　was　intemperate；　but　who　had　never　dreamed　of　subverting　the　government　by　physical　force；　were　indicted　for　high　treason；　and　were　saved　from　the　gallows　only　by　the　righteous　verdicts　of　juries。　　This　severity　was　at　the　time　loudly　applauded　by　alarmists　whom　fear　had　made　cruel；　but　will　be　seen　in　a　very　different　light　by　posterity。　　The　truth　is；　that　the　Englishmen　who　wished　for　a　revolution　were；　even　in　number；　not　formidable；　and　in　everything　but　number；　a　faction　utterly　contemptible；　without　arms；　or　funds；　or　plans；　or　organisation；　or　leader。　　There　can　be　no　doubt　that　Pitt；　strong　as　he　was　in　the　support　of　the　great　body　of　the　nation；　might　easily　have　repressed　the　turbulence　of　the　discontented　minority　by　firmly　yet　temperately　enforcing　the　ordinary　law。　　Whatever　vigour　he　showed　during　this　unfortunate　part　of　his　life　was　vigour　out　of　place　and　season。　　He　was　all　feebleness　and　langour　in　his　conflict　with　the　foreign　enemy　who　was　really　to　be　dreaded；　and　reserved　all　his　energy　and　resolution　for　the　domestic　enemy　who　might　safely　have　been　despised。　One　part　only　of　Pitt's　conduct　during　the　last　eight　years　of　the　eighteenth　century　deserves　high　praise。　　He　was　the　first　English　minister　who　formed　great　designs　for　the　benefit　of　Ireland。　　The　manner　in　which　the　Roman　Catholic　population　of　that　unfortunate　country　had　been　kept　down　during　many　generations　seemed　to　him　unjust　and　cruel；　and　it　was　scarcely　possible　for　a　man　of　his　abilities　not　to　perceive　that；　in　a　contest　against　the　Jacobins；　the　Roman　Catholics　were　his　natural　allies。　　Had　he　been　able　to　do　all　that　he　wished；　it　is　probable　that　a　wise　and　liberal　policy　would　have　averted　the　rebellion　of　1798。　　But　the　difficulties　which　he　encountered　were　great；　perhaps　insurmountable；　and　the　Roman　Catholics　were；　rather　by　his　misfortune　than　by　his　fault；　thrown　into　the　hands　of　the　Jacobins。　　There　was　a　third　great　rising　of　the　Irishry　against　the　Englishry；　a　rising　not　less　formidable　than　the　risings　of　1641　and　1689。　　The　Englishry　remained　victorious；　and　it　was　necessary　for　Pitt；　as　it　had　been　necessary　for　Oliver　Cromwell　and　William　of　Orange　before　him；　to　consider　how　the　victory　should　be　used。　　It　is　only　just　to　his　memory　to　say　that　he　formed　a　scheme　of　policy；　so　grand　and　so　simple；　so　righteous　and　so　humane；　that　it　would　alone　entitle　him　to　a　high　place　among　statesmen。　　He　determined　to　make　Ireland　one　kingdom　with　England；　and；　at　the　same　time；　to　relieve　the　Roman　Catholic　laity　from　civil　disabilities；　and　to　grant　a　public　maintenance　to　the　Roman　Catholic　clergy。　　Had　he　been　able　to　carry　these　noble　designs　into　effect；　the　Union　would　have　been　an　Union　indeed。　　It　would　have　been　inseparably　associated　in　the　minds　of　the　great　majority　of　Irishmen　with　civil　and　religious　freedom；　and　the　old　Parliament　in　College　Green　would　have　been　regretted　only　by　a　small　knot　of　discarded　jobbers　and　oppressors；　and　would　have　been　remembered　by　the　body　of　the　nation　with　the　loathing　and　contempt　due　to　the　most　tyrannical　and　the　most　corrupt　assembly　that　had　ever　sate　in　Europe。　　But　Pitt　could　execute　only　one　half　of　what　he　had　projected。　　He　succeeded　in　obtaining　the　consent　of　the　Parliaments　of　both　kingdoms　to　the　Union；　but　that　reconciliation　of　races　and　sects；　without　which　the　Union　could　exist　only　in　name；　was　not　accomplished。　　He　was　well　aware　that　he　was　likely　to　find　difficulties　in　the　closet。　　But　he　flattered　himself；　that　by　cautious　and　dexterous　management；　those　difficulties　might　be　overcome。　　Unhappily；　there　were　traitors　and　sycophants　in　high　place　who　did　not　suffer　him　to　take　his　own　time；　and　his　own　way；　but　prematurely　disclosed　his　scheme　to　the　King；　and　disclosed　it　in　the　manner　most　likely　to　irritate　and　alarm　a　weak　and　diseased　mind。　　His　Majesty　absurdly　imagined　that　his　Coronation　oath　bound　him　to　refuse　his　assent　to　any　bill　for　relieving　Roman　Catholics　from　civil　disabilities。　　To　argue　with　him　was　impossible。　　Dundas　tried　to　explain　the　matter；　but　was　told　to　keep　his　Scotch　metaphysics　to　himself。　　Pitt；　and　Pitt's　ablest　colleagues；　resigned　their　offices。　　It　was　necessary　that　the　King　should　make　a　new　arrangement。　　But　by　this　time　his　anger　and　distress　had　brought　back　the　malady　which　had；　many　years　before；　incapacitated　him　for　the　discharge　of　his　functions。　　He　actually　assembled　his　family；　read　the　Coronation　oath　to　them；　and　told　them　that；　if　he　broke　it；　the　Crown　would　immediately　pass　to　the　House　of　Savoy。　　I