HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



217 



to be, he undertook, alone, to move 

 the yast machinery of the British 

 empire — at once to provide her 

 resources at home — protect her in- 

 terests abroad — carry on a war, the 

 most dangerous in Avhich England 

 ■was ever engaged — and lastly, and 

 not the least arduous part of his 

 task, in a government like ours, 

 defend his measures in parliament, a- 

 gainst more talent and ability than 

 ever were before, at any period of 

 •ur annals, opposed to a government. 



It is not surprising, Iiercforc, 

 that the result of the fatal doctrine 

 of " exclusion," unknown to our 

 constitution and our practice, and 

 adted upon by Sir. Pitt, in the form- 

 ing his second administration, should 

 be produdlire of the most dire re- 

 suits. With the exception of the 

 admiralty, the different departments 

 of the state were administered by 

 men, the refuse of preceding admi- 

 nistrations, or the personal friends 

 of Mr. Pitt, but in whom were iini- 

 ▼crsally wanting experience and a- 

 bility, and of confessedly inferior 

 talents : tiie consequence was, as 

 might have been expected, that the 

 measures of a cabinet, so composed, 

 ■were destitute of wisdom, prompti- 

 tude, or energy. 



We have, in a preceding chapter, 

 taken occasion to lament the preci- 

 pitancy of those steps which led 

 Austria to open the campaign, be- 

 fore that system of co-operation 

 agreed to, by the powers allied 

 against France, could be a6led upon. 

 That moment was entirely optional 

 with the former ; and with England, 

 the life and soul of tlie coalition, 

 evidently lay the power of its de- 

 tcrminauon. The fatal events of 

 the short war of this year too clear- 

 ly demonstrate its being ill chosen, 

 and the tardiness with which the 



English troops, destined io aft in 

 concert with those of :5weden and 

 Russia, in the north of Europe, were 

 equi]iped, and the lateness of their 

 arrival in Hanover, (which was not 

 till the Austrian Hrn>y, 'ludcr Gene- 

 ral Alack, had bc^n totally destroy- 

 ed, and V^icnn.v in thi; liaads of the 

 French) fully prove how void of 

 judgment, foresight, and aciivity, 

 were the coiineiis of Great Britaia 

 at this trying time. The occupati- 

 on of the kingdo.n of Naples by th« 

 English and Russian tro'ips, wh;'re 

 they remained completely ina(5tive 

 during tiie whole campaign, alibrds 

 another melancholy prool", if nior« 

 proofs were wanting, of the lament- 

 able deficiency of the British go- 

 vernment in its most ioiportant re- 

 quisites. 



Nor was the situation of the mi- 

 nister at home much to be envied, 

 beaten in parliament, and baflled in 

 his wishes to save the ablest of his 

 colleagues from disgrace and a pub- 

 lic trial ; he saw lord jVlelville, there 

 fore, retire with sensations ol pecu- 

 liar bitterness, not only from motives 

 of old and unbroken friendship with 

 that nobleman, but as viewing in tJiat 

 event his own decreasing power and 

 consequence. To have found a neces- 

 sity of taking lord Sidmouth into 

 oflicc, and afterwards for discarding 

 him, under the circumstances to 

 which we have already adverted, 

 and the effedl upon the public n)ind 

 of this extraordinary vaccillation, 

 must also have been, to a mind and 

 temper constituted like his, peculiar- 

 ly mortifying. While the necessity 

 of unceasing attention to, and super- 

 vision of, all the greater departments 

 of the state, a necessity induced by 

 the inexperience and inefficiency of 

 his colleagues, together with thedis- 

 di%rgcofhig own vastand complicat- 



ed 



