Portland and the other Ministers, while Pitt was charged with the formation of a new Administration. One of the first steps he took was to offer the Secretaryship of the Treasury to Mr. Orde.
"I have seen Mr. Pitt," the latter wrote to Shelburne, "and delivered my reasons for desiring to be excused from acceptance of the employment, which he did me the honour to propose to me, at least till I had the means of knowing your Lordship's opinion and approbation; upon which he repeated what he had said before in regard to your Lordship, and nothing more. I sought as naturally as I could to give him an opening for some further declaration, but it did not answer. I told him that I had seen Mr. Barré. He immediately inquired about his health, and when I told him that he had great hopes from the gout, he expressed much satisfaction at the account, but not a word about his coming up, or any wish of his assistance."[1]
On the 23rd Lord Temple resigned the seals, apparently because Pitt, like Shelburne, had refused to advise the King to make him a Duke. "Things take a new turn," Orde wrote to Shelburne, "but it is resolved to stand their ground, however weak and dangerous it may prove. Mr. Pitt declares himself firmly bent upon a trial, and is encouraged to this by Lord Thurlow, who is to have the Seal immediately. It was yesterday reported, that several offers had been made of the Seals of Secretary of State, but all had declined. The discretion of Lord Temple has however roused the spirit of the party, and Lord Carmarthen and Lord Sydney have kissed hands to-day at the Queen's house. Mr. Dundas tells me, that the former declared his preference to other employment than this he has accepted, but that he considered this as a moment in which every man was called upon to come forward, and take his line for life. Lord Carmarthen had been appointed Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Lord Sydney was Home Secretary. The latter very kindly acts as a
- ↑ Orde to Shelburne, December 20th, 1783.
