Mar. 23. Lord Limerick's Motion for an Inquiry into the Conduct of 79 DATE. 1770. Jan. 22. Feb. 2. The Marquis of Rockingham's Motion for Appointing a PAGE 95* The Marquis of Rockingham's Motion respecting the Judi- March 14. Debate in the Lords on the State of the Civil List. Nov. 22. The Duke of Richmond's Motion respecting the Seizure of 111. 1774. May 27. Debate in the Lords on the Bill for Quartering Troops in 128* 1777. May 30. Lord Chatham's Motion for an Address to the Crown to 143* The Duke of Richmond's Motion for an Inquiry into the 157* The Earl of Chatham's Motion for General Burgoyne's 161* BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE EARL OF CHATHAM. WILLIAM PITT, first Earl of Chatham, was born on the 15th of November, 1708, in the parish of St. James, in the city of Westminster, He was the second son of Robert Pitt, Esq., of Boconnoc, near Lostwithiel in the county of Cornwall; and of Harriet Villiers, sister of the Earl of Grandison, an Irish peer. His grandfather was Governor of Madras, and subsequently of Jamaica, and sat during four Parliaments for Old Sarum and Thirsk. This gentleman is more generally known as the possessor of the celebrated diamond called the Pitt diamond, which was purchased by the Regent Orleans for the King of France.* William Pitt was sent to Eton at an early age, and placed upon the foundation of that celebrated establishment. Among others whose names subsequently became distinguished, he there had for his contemporaries George, afterwards Lord Lyttelton; Henry Fox, afterwards Lord Holland; and Henry Fielding. After leaving Eton, Pitt went to Trinity College, Oxford, where he devoted the principal portion of his time to the study of history and the classical writers of antiquity. An early attack of the gout obliged him to quit the University without taking a degree. He then made a tour through France and Italy, for the benefit of his health. On his return to England, he obtained a commission in the Blues, and entered Parliament This diamond weighed 127 carats; and at the beginning of the last century was considered the largest in Europe. Mr. Pitt's grandfather purchased it for £20,400, and sold it for £135,000. The workmanship, however, of the stone was valued at £10,000. + Mr. Pitt, when a boy at Eton, was the pride and boast of the school. Dean Bland, the master, valued himself on having so bright a scholar, and showed him to his friends, and to everybody, as a prodigy. The following extract from the register of Trinity College, Oxford, is given by Mr. Thackeray, in his Hist. of the Earl of Chatham, p. 3, n. "Ego Gulielmus Pitt Filius Robti Pitt armi: de Old Sarum in comitatu Wilts, natus Londini, in Par: Sancti Jacobi annorum circiter octodecim, admissus sum primi ordinis commensalis, sub tutamine Magri Stockwell, Janrii. decimo die anno Domini 1726." in February 1735, as one of the representatives for Old Sarum. He was gifted in an eminent degree by nature with the external qualities (so to speak) of the orator. He possessed a tall and manly figure, a dignified and graceful deportment, a countenance singularly expressive, and an eye, the keenness of which often struck terror into the most able and intrepid of his opponents. "His voice was both full and clear; his lowest whisper was distinctly heard; his middle tones were sweet, rich, and beautifully varied; when he elevated his voice to its highest pitch, the House was completely filled with the volume of the sound. The effect was awful, except when he wished to cheer or animate; he then had spirit-stirring notes, which were perfectly irresistible. He frequently rose on a sudden from a very low to a very high key, but it seemed to be without effort."* "All accounts concur in representing the effects of his oratory to have been prodigious. The spirit and vehemence which animated its greater passages their perfect application to the subject matter of debate-the appositeness of his invective to the individual assailed-the boldness of the feats which he ventured upon-the grandeur of the ideas which he unfolded-the heart-stirring nature of his appeals-are all confessed by the united testimony of his contemporaries." † 66 His maiden speech was delivered on Mr. Pulteney's motion, on the 29th of April, 1736, for a congratulatory address to the King on the marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Princess of Saxe Gotha. This speech produced a considerable sensation; and is applauded by Tindal as being more ornamented than the declamations of Demosthenes, and less diffuse than those of Cicero." It was, however, particularly distasteful to the Court. This circumstance, coupled with Mr. Pitt's forming one of the opposition to Sir Robert Walpole, procured for him his dismissal from the army within a very short time afterwards; for the vacancy made by the supercession of Cornet Pitt was filled up on the 17th of May, 1736.§ The Prince of Wales soon recompensed him for this loss by appointing him one of the grooms of his bedchamber; and Mr. Pitt now took a prominent part in opposition to Sir Robert Walpole. In 1744, the celebrated Duchess of Marlborough died, leaving him a legacy" of £10,000, upon account of his merit in the noble defence he has made of the laws of England, and to prevent the ruin of his country." Upon this he resigned his situation in the household of the Prince of Wales. In the same year, Mr. Pitt was proposed by the Duke of Newcastle for the office of Secretary at War; but the King's aversion to him, in conse* Butler's Reminiscences, vol. i. p. 139. + Lord Brougham's Statesmen. Lord Chatham. Eldest son of George the Second, and father of George the Third. § Quarterly Review, June 1840, art. "Life of Chatham." The first sound of Mr. Pitt's voice terrified Sir Robert Walpole, and he immediately exclaimed, "We must muzzle that terrible cornet of horse." Sir Robert offered to promote Mr. Pitt's rise in the army, provided he gave up his seat in Parliament. |