"The expedition against the coast of France was suggested by Prince Ferdinand upon a general idea. Mr. Pitt adopted it without any particular plan, intelligence, or instruction whatever, as may be seen by the instructions published at the end of General Bligh's Defence, which contained the whole of what was suggested by Ministry. Mr. Pitt's great aim was to draw them up so as to throw all the blame in case of failure on the military commanders. He was accustomed to deliver them amid a conversation, all oratory and no substance, tending to encourage the operation and promising supplies, in which respect he never failed, but taking care to commit himself as little as possible further in case of the worst and in fact had no information to give, having no intelligence and never having applied his mind to such subjects. All the rest of the Cabinet were against it. The Court, who thought of nothing but Germany, wished all the troops there. The Duke of Newcastle and his friends, on that account as well as old Continental principles and secret jealousy and enmity to Pitt, were strong against it. The Duke of Cumberland the same, for very much the same reasons. Lord Granville, a species of neutral man, was in opinion against it. The Army necessarily followed the Court and the ton of the times. Besides an army individually never likes fighting, and when there is a loophole for it very quickly adopts the opinion collectively. The Duke of Cumberland, under whom the army had been formed and made, was not an officer himself, and had no talents to form any, nor liberality of mind to take them up when they presented themselves. He made only sergeants and corporals, who were dreadfully frightened when they came to think of a chief command. There were interspersed in the army a few men of high rank or House of Commons talents. But it is not reasonable to expect much talent among men of the first description; and the second had applied their minds to a very different course, and had continued in the army from the accident of early destination as younger brothers, before better prospects
