the powers
with which his father was intrusted only at a mature period of life.
Pitt was almost beyond envy, and the proud nobles and princely
capitalists of the richest, proudest, and most conservative country in
the world, surrendered to him the guardianship of their liberties with
no more fear or distrust than the hereditary bondmen of Turkey or
Russia would have shown in hailing the accession of a new emperor. He
was born to command, one of nature's despots, and he assumed the reins
of government with a perfect consciousness of his abilities to rule.

He was only twenty-four years of age when he began to reign; for, as
prime minister of George III., he was, during his continuance in
office, the absolute ruler of the British empire. He had, virtually,
the nomination of his colleagues, and, through them, the direction of
all executive affairs. He was controlled by the legislature only, and
parliament was subservient to his will. What a proud position for a
young man to occupy! A commoner, with a limited fortune, to give laws
to a vast empire, and to have a proud nobility obedient to his will;
and all this by the force of talents alone--talents which extorted
admiration and respect. He selected Lord Thurlow as chancellor, Lord
Gower as president of the council, the Duke of Richmond as lord privy
seal, Lords Carmarthen and Sydney as secretaries of state, and Lord
Howe as first lord of the admiralty. These were his chief associates
in resisting a powerful opposition, and in regulating the affairs of a
vast empire--the concerns of India, the national debt, the necessary
taxation, domestic tranquillity, and intercourse with foreign powers.
But he deserved the confidence of his sovereign and of the nation, and
they sustained him in his extraordinary embarrassments and
difficulties.

[Sidenote: Policy of Pitt.]

The policy of the administration is not here to be discussed; but it
was the one pursued, in the main, by his father, and one which
gratified the national pride. The time has not yet come for us to
decide, with certainty, on the wisdom of his course. He was the
advocate of measures which had for their object national
aggrandizement. He was the strenuous defender of war, and he would
oppose Napoleon and all the world to secure preeminence to Great
Britain. He believed that glory was better than money; he thought that
an overwhelming debt was a less evil than national disgrace; he
exaggerated the resources and stre