880° 
virtue, to place his sole happiness 
in promoting the greatness of his 
country, to be devoted alone to her 
interests, and to remain unmarried, 
and without a progeny, that he 
might be, in a sense somewhat dif- 
ferent from Cato, urbi pater urbique 
Marius. 
Of lady Hester Stanhope, his 
nieee, he shewed the highest regard. 
An attention to commerce greatly 
distinguished Mr. Pitt’s administra- 
tion. Perhaps there is no man ‘in 
the kingdom better acquainted with 
the principles of trade than he was— 
The oldest and most experienced 
merchants have been astonished at 
his readiness in conversing with 
them upon subjects of which they 
thought themselves exclusively mas= 
ters.—Many who have waited upon 
him, in full confidence that they 
should communicate some new and 
important information, have, to 
their great surprise. found him mi- 
nutely and. intimately acquainted 
with all those points to which they 
had conceived he was a stranger. 
By the close attention which he 
uniformly paid to the mercantile 
interests, he also secured to himself 
an exclusive basis of support, which 
enabled him not only to resist a 
most vigorous opposition, but to 
carry into effect financial measures 
until his time deemed impracticable. 
Some men~ have charged him 
with political tergiversation, on the 
ground of having abandoned, if not 
opposed, the project of a parlia- 
mentary reform, If he really cone 
sidered such a reform as no longer 
necessary, it will not be difficult to 
exonerate him from this heavy accu- 
sation. But there certainly is a 
great difference between absolute 
apostacy and an oceasional cessation 
frem a particular system of. opinions 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806. 
4 
or line of conduct. It docs not 
follow that Mr. Pitt was an enemy 
to necessary reform, because he con-_ 
sidered the existing circumstances of — 
the country as too critical to admit— 
the trial of the experiment. 
One trait in the character of Mr, 
Pitt should be noticed to his honour, 
namely, his grateful remembrance _ 
of those to whom the care of his 
earliest years and the task of his 
instruction had been consigned. | 
Under his patronage, Dr. Wilson, 
his first instructor, is now canon of 
Windsor ; and one of his sons has a © 
lucrative sinecure in Jamaica. The © 
worthy Dr. Turner isdean of Nor-— 
wich ; and Dr. Prettyman has been © 
rewarded with the bishopric of 
Lincoln, and the deanery of Saint 
Paul’s, 
This principle of gratitude was 
displayed by him in other instances. 
Ifis first coming into parliament was 
somewhat extraordinary. Sir James 
Lowther was possessed of several 
boroughs, and had some peculiar — 
notions with respect to parliamen- 
tary inflaence. The duke of Rut- 
Jand saw and valued the talents of 
Mr. Pitt in his youth, and knowing 
what sir James could do for him, 
took occasion, as he was walking 
in Pall-Mall, and accidentally met 
Mr. Pitt, to recommend him to the 
notice of sir James, telling him that 
it would be a public service to the 
country, to put a young man of his 
splendid talents into parliament. 
Sir James acceded to the proposal, 
gave him a Seat for Appleby, and in 
the most honourable manner accom- 
panied it with a written declaration, 
that he should require of him no 
political adherence to any party. 
So little was he fettered with terms, 
that one of his first public exertions 
was to promote a reform in parlia- 
ment, 
