Shelburne or Mr. Pitt?'—He seemed struck. He afterwards however took occasion to say that Lord Shelburne might perhaps be thought among them not to be likely to be contented with anything but the whole direction; and that perhaps they had left room for his coming in, and Lord Sydney might only be a Locum Tenens for that purpose, if Lord Shelburne would choose a share. I now took the discourse into my own hands. 'Mr. Pitt,' I said, 'is as desirous to have the whole, as it is thought Lord Shelburne is; and what is that but ambition on his side?' To this Mr. Oswald assented. 'But,' said I, 'there is no proper basis for it. Mr. Pitt takes advantage of his being the only man in the House of Commons; and in truth he seems a good talker; but I had often observed that talking led the owner of it, and those about him, to false estimates of abilities; and it appeared to me that upon two fundamental points, Mr. Pitt had shown want of powers in business; the question of the peace and the question of the India Bill.' Mr. Oswald said, indeed that was true: he had not gone into those two questions like a man of business, that we had too much talking, and that Count Vergennes did the business of Europe with half the parade. 'Very well,' said I, 'I will remark further, that his Administration is defective in the Lords and in the Cabinet, provided it was meant to be a liberal one, and as virtuous as he (Mr. Oswald) supposed they meant it to be. In the Lords, there were Lords Gower and Thurlow, and if he pleased Lord Sydney, who were not likely to defend well such questions as might occur, on liberal grounds, for as to the two other young Councillors,[1] I put them out of the question; and as to the Duke of Richmond, everybody had seen that he was capable of "turning short." As to the Cabinet, there were the three young gentlemen and Lord Sydney, against the others; and there he might easily judge how Mr. Pitt could drive things through. If the Lords and Cabinet hang heavy on his hands, he saw what the Commons were. He had got opposers in the Commons, who abound in wit,
- ↑ Lord Carmarthen and the Duke of Rutland.
