Edmond Fitzmaurice, Life of William, Earl of Shelburne, 1875-6, iii. 20-5). On 7 April the Duke of Richmond, who had formerly supported Chatham's American policy, but now openly advocated the immediate acknowledgment of American independence, moved an address to the crown for the withdrawal of the forces from the revolted colonies. Against the advice of his physician, Chatham insisted on being present at the debate, in order that he might publicly declare his disagreement with the American policy of the Rockingham party. Wrapped up in flannel, and supported on crutches, he was led into the house by his son William, and his son-in-law, Lord Mahon. In a few broken words, uttered in a barely audible voice, he protested for the last time against 'the dismemberment of this ancient and most noble monarchy,' and laughed to scorn the fears of a French invasion. While rising to speak a second time in reply to the Duke of Richmond, Chatham fell backwards in a fit. He was carried into the Prince's Chamber, and the debate was immediately adjourned (Parl. Hist. xix. 1012-31). As soon as he could be moved he was carried into a messenger's house in Downing Street, where he remained a few days. Having recovered in some degree from the attack, he was removed to Hayes. There, after lingering a few weeks, he died on 11 May 1778, in his seventieth year. On the same day an address was carried unanimously in the House of Commons, praying the king 'to give directions that the remains of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, be interred at the public charge, and that a monument be erected in the collegiate church of St. Peter's, Westminster, to the memory of that excellent statesman, with an inscription expressive of the public sense of so great and irreparable a loss' (ib. xix. 1224-5). Shelburne's motion that the House of Lords should attend the funeral was defeated by a single vote (ib. xix. 1233-1234). A sum of 20,000l. was voted by the House of Commons on 26 May in payment of Chatham's debts, and a bill settling an annuity of 4,000l. on his successors in the earldom received the royal assent on 3 June (ib. xix. 1225-8, 1233, 1234-55). The city of London presented a petition to the House of Commons requesting that Chatham might be buried in St. Paul's Cathedral (ib. xix. 1229-33) ; but the preparations for the funeral in the abbey had already been made, and the ministers were disinclined to grant any favours to the city. The body lay in state in the Painted Chamber on 7 and 8 June, and was buried in the north transept of Westminster Abbey on the following day. The funeral was attended chiefly by members of the opposition. The banner of the lordship of Chatham was borne by Barré, accompanied by the Dukes of Richmond, Manchester, and Northumberland, and the Marquis of Rockingham. The pall was upheld by Burke, Dunning, Sir George Savile, and Thomas Townshend. In the absence of the eldest son on foreign service, William Pitt was the chief mourner, while Lords Shelburne, Camden, and six other peers followed as assistant mourners.
Chatham was pre-eminently the most striking figure on the English political stage during the eighteenth century. By force of his own abilities and his extraordinary popularity he became the foremost man in the nation, notwithstanding the prejudice entertained against him by George II. 'In him,' says Mr. Lecky, 'the people for the first time felt their power. He was essentially their representative, and he gloried in avowing it' (History of England in the Eighteenth Century, 1883, ii. 516). Ambition was the ruling passion of his life, but 'it was ambition associated with worthy objects — the reputation of his country abroad, the integrity of her free institutions at home' (Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, Life of William, Earl of Shelburne, iii. 33). In spite of his many foibles and weaknesses, Chatham was undoubtedly a man of consummate genius. His mind was singularly fertile in resources. The vice of irresolution was unknown to him. His courage was indomitable, his energy irresistible. 'II faut avouer,' said Frederick the Great, 'que l'Angleterre a été longtems en travail, et qu'elle a beaucoup soufferte pour produire M. Pitt ; mais enfin elle est accouchée d'un homme' (Chatham Correspondence, i. 444-5). As a war minister, his greatness is beyond question. Though his military plans were often faulty, and sometimes unsuccessful, he revived the spirit of the nation, and inspired all those who worked under him with his own undaunted courage. Regardless of the traditions of the services, he chose men as commanders of his expeditions for their merit, and not for their rank. It was his discernment that selected Wolfe for the command of the expedition to Quebec. 'I am no more an enthusiast to his memory than you,' wrote Horace Walpole of Chatham to his friend Cole. 'I knew his faults and his defects ; yet . . . under him we attained not only our highest elevation, but the most solid authority in Europe. When the names of Marlborough and Chatham are still pronounced with awe in France, our little cavils make a
