bers to assist in preserving the dignity of the house, lest they 'should only sit to register the arbitrary edicts of one too powerful a subject.' Two days later he made a scathing attack upon Murray, the new attorney-general, a great favourite of the prime minister (Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of George II, i. 408, 412-14 ; Waldegrave, Memoirs, 1821, pp. 146-8, 150-2). According to Horace Walpole, Pitt delivered 'one of his best worded and most spirited declamations for liberty' during the discussion of the Scottish Sheriff-depute Bill on 26 Feb. 1755 (Memoirs of the Reign of George II, ii. 5). In April the short-lived alliance between Pitt and Fox was broken off by Fox's acceptance of a seat in the cabinet, a desertion which Pitt never forgot or forgave (ib. ii. 37-39 ; Chatham Correspondence, i. 132-3).
Pitt now connected himself with Leicester House, and agreed to support the Princess of Wales and her son, afterwards George III, against Newcastle, who had hitherto been her favourite minister (Waldegrave, Memoirs, pp. 37-9). During the summer Newcastle and Hardwicke vainly endeavoured to induce Pitt to give his cordial assistance to the ministry. Pitt, however, 'was very explicit, and fairly let them know that he expected to be secretary of state and would not content himself with any meaner employment' (ib. p. 44). When the Hessian treaty was brought to the treasury, Legge, the chancellor of the exchequer, refused, at Pitt's instigation, to sign the treasury warrants for carrying it into execution. At the opening of parliament on 13 Nov. Pitt delivered a brilliant and powerful speech against the subsidies. 'He spoke,' says Horace Walpole in a letter to his friend Conway, 'at past one for an hour and thirty-five minutes. There was more humour, wit, vivacity, finer language, more boldness, in short, more astonishing perfections, than even you, who are used to him, can conceive' (Walpole, Letters, ii. 484). It was in the course of this speech that Pitt made the famous comparison between the coalition of Fox and Newcastle and the juncture of the Rhone and the Saone (Walpole, Memoirs of George II, ii. 58). Pitt and Legge were dismissed from their respective offices on 20 Nov. 1755. As his means were narrow, Pitt induced his brother-in-law, Temple, to lend him 1,000l. a year till better times (Grenville Papers, 1852-3, i. 149-52).
Throughout 1755 hostilities had been continual between the English and French in North America, and early in 1756 the rupture with France became complete. Pitt supported the government in their attempt to render the army and navy more effective, and spoke warmly in favour of the establishment of a real militia force, but continued his attacks on the subsidies to German princes. During the debate on Lyttelton's motion for a vote of credit for a million in May 1756, Pitt roundly abused the ministers for their incapacity. His charge, he said, was that 'we had provoked before we could defend, and neglected after provocation; that we were left inferior to France in every quarter; that the vote of credit had been misapplied to secure the electorate; and that we had bought a treaty with Prussia by sacrificing our rights' (Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of George II, ii. 191-7). The disastrous events — the loss of Minorca, the defeat of Braddock at Fort Duquesne, the capture of Calcutta by Surajah Dowlah, and the horrors of the Black Hole — which followed the prorogation of parliament completed the unpopularity of Newcastle's ministry, and made Pitt's accesion to power an inevitable necessity. The king, at length finding that he had no alternative but to call in the popular favourite, authorised Hardwicke to open negotiations with Pitt, who boldly refused to take any part in the administration while the Duke of Newcastle remained. Upon the duke's declaration of his intention to resign in November 1756, Fox was directed to form an administration with Pitt. But Pitt also refused to act with Fox. After further negotiations the Duke of Devonshire consented to become first lord of the treasury, while Pitt, the actual premier, became secretary of state for the southern department (4 Dec. 1756) and the leader of the House of Commons. The great seal was put in commission, Legge was made chancellor of the exchequer, Temple first lord of the admiralty, and George Grenville treasurer of the navy. Having vacated his seat at Aldborough by the acceptance of office, Pitt was returned for Buckingham and Okehampton, and elected to sit for Okehampton.
Distrusted by the king, and feebly supported in the House of Commons, where the Duke of Newcastle's corrupt influence was still dominant, Pitt soon found that he was unable to carry on the government of the country with the aid of public opinion alone. Vigorous measures were, however, immediately taken to increase the army, the Hessians were dismissed, a bill for the establishment of a national militia was brought in, and in order to allay the disloyalty of the Scots, the recommendation originally made by Duncan Forbes in 1738 was carried into effect by the formation of two regiments out
