HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



l€i 



It is to the praise of Mr. Adding- 

 ton, that to this state of things, 

 with such an opposition rangctl 

 agauist him, as could leave no ques- 

 tion of the real sentiments of par- 

 liament or the public, he yielded 

 without hesitation ; and instead of 

 attempting b}' a fruitless resistance, 

 to prolong a struggle, which, in a 

 moment of so much difficulty the 

 public interests could but ill endure, 

 he gave to his soYereign, that, which, 

 in such a case, was the only sound 

 and constitutional advice — namely, 

 that a new ministry should, without 

 delay, be formed, possessing more 

 of the confidence both of parliament 

 and of the public ; and declarations, 

 amounting in substance to this ef- 

 fect, although couched in terms of 

 some ambiguity and reserve, were 

 made both in the house of lords and 

 house of commons. 



When the resignation of Mr. Ad- 

 dington was thus announced, there 

 universally prevailed throughout the 

 countrj' a greater degree of unani- 

 mity, ns well of wish as of oj)iniou, 

 as to the steps to be next taken, 

 than has, perhaps, ever been wit- 

 nessed in any other case of a similar 

 description. The increasing dan- 

 gers of the country had produced a 

 general call for the union and co- 

 operation of all those, whose services 

 could in any manner be useful to 

 the interests of the public. This 

 sentiment had been echoed by every 

 party, and by every description of 

 people. The government had recom- 

 mended, that all political diliercnces 

 should be swallowed up in an uni- 

 versal exertion for the common de- 

 fence, to be made under their united 

 ausj)ices. The three parties which 

 had at length joined in opposition, 

 had succe-sivelv shewn, both by 

 their lungu.ige and their practice, 



that they ako m ished to bury in ob- 

 livion the memory of past dilt'e- 

 rcnces, and to unite in exertions for 

 the com.mon security ; although they 

 deemed it essential to the success of 

 these exertions, that the direction of 

 them should be entrusted to such 

 hands as might, in the general opi- 

 nion of mankind, be reasonably 

 deemed adequate to such a task. — 

 The country at large rejoiced to see 

 those great political leaders, by 

 whose divisions the public mind had 

 so long been distracted, now united 

 in the same course of conduct, and 

 acting in parliament with that com- 

 manding effect, which was naturally 

 to be expected from such a concur- 

 rence. 



Whatever private predilections 

 were rumoured to prevail in ANY 

 QUARTER, no doubt was enter- 

 tained, but that the general wish 

 would be gratified by the formatioa 

 of a government, such as this new 

 state of things seemed to render 

 prac/icable, and as all men felt to 

 be desirable : a government, em- 

 bracing all that could be found iu 

 the country most eminent in talent 

 and consideration. 



Such was the course, by which, 

 in former periods of public danger, 

 (formidable at the period, though 

 little to be compared in magnitude 

 with that by wliich the country was 

 now menaced,) the public spirit 

 had been raised from dejeftion and 

 despondency to the highest anima- 

 tion and most vigorous exertion : and 

 a train of disgraces and defeats had 

 been followed by a long scries of 

 triumph and victory. The hope of 

 a similar result, in the present in. 

 stance, was strengthened by the 

 public declarations of the most con. 

 siderable persons of every political 

 party, and by the ujiiform language 

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