; HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
of secretary of state for foreign af- 
fairs, he should be in a situation 
where he could more effectually 
contribute to the restoration 
peace, decided his choice, and de- 
termined him to prefer a place with 
Jittle or no patronage, to one which 
has infinitely the greatest influence 
and patronage of any in the go- 
vernment. When Mr. Fox de. 
clined to be first lord of the trea- 
sury, that place naturally devolved 
en lord Grenville. But, lord 
_ Grenvilie held the office of auditor 
of the exchequer, which is incom- 
patible with that of a lord of the 
treasury. Jt could not be expected 
that lord Grenville would resign 
the auditorship-of the exchequer, a 
place which he held for life, on 
being made first lord of the treasury, 
from which he might be removed at 
_ the pleasure of the crown. . It was, 
_ therefore, necessary to bring a bill 
into parliament, to enable the au- 
ditor of the exchequer, if appointed 
to the place of a lord of the trea- 
sury, to accept of that office without 
forfeiting his place of auditor; and 
that this might be done without in- 
jury to the public, he was em- 
powered to name a trustee to hold 
the office of auditor, while he con- 
tinued to be a lord of the treasury ; 
which trustee should be responsible 
of 
27 
risk or inconvenience to the public, 
has been madea subject of the most 
frivolous and unfounded censure out 
of deors, against both the mover of 
the bill, and the noble lord on 
whose account it was passed ; and, 
r#liculous as it may seem, it has been 
swelled into a serious charge against 
the administration of which it was 
the act. : 
The appointment of lord Ellen- 
borough to a seat in the cabinet, 
was a measure of a more doubtful 
policy. When lord Sidmouth joined 
the administration, he is said to 
have stipulated, that, besides him- 
self, one of his friends should have 
a place in the cabinet, and the 
known constitutional principles, and 
personal character of lord Ellenbo- 
rough, are supposed to have pointed 
him out to Mr. Fox and lord Gren- 
ville, as the most eligible of lord 
Sidmonth’s. friends for that situa- 
tion. But lord Elilenborough was 
lord chief justice of England, and, 
with the exception of lord Mans- 
field, there had been no instance, 
since the revolution, of a lord chief 
justice who had taken an open, un- 
disguised part as an adviser of the 
crown upon_state affairs. Lord 
Elienborough’s appointment to a 
seat in the cabinet was, therefore, a 
subject of general discussion and 
_ to the auditor for the salary, and to 
_ the public for the due execution of 
the office. No opposition was 
animadversion out of doors, and at 
length it was brought before parlia- 
meut, by the earl of Bristol in the 
made to this bill in parliament. 
_ One of the ex-ministers, in recom- 
mending some alteration of the bill 
as originally proposed, declared, 
that ‘‘ If what he had to say should 
induce the noble lord (Grenville) 
to take another office, he should 
feel very serious concern from the 
circumstance,” Yet, this measure, 
though unattended with the slightest 
house of lords, and by Mr. Spencer 
Stanhope in the house of commons. 
Lord Bristol moved (March 3d.) 
a resolution, stating it as the opi- 
nion of the house, ‘* That it was 
highly inexpedient, and tended to 
weaken the administration of jus- 
tice, to summon to any committee 
or assembly of the privy council, 
any of the judges of his majesty’s 
courts 
