ime minister hopes to carry out.

The impending resignations were announced in parliament, and Sir John
Mitford, the attorney-general, was chosen speaker in place of Addington,
but the completion of the ministerial arrangements was delayed, and Pitt
remained _de facto_ prime minister. To prevent public inconvenience he
brought forward his budget on the 18th. He announced a loan of
L25,500,000 for Great Britain and L1,500,000 for Ireland, afterwards
increased by another L1,000,000, which the commercial prosperity of the
country, though then in the ninth year of the war, had enabled him to
negotiate, at the rate of about 5-1/4 per cent., and he proposed
fourteen new taxes to defray the interest. The budget was well received.
The delay in the change of ministry was prolonged by the king's illness.
He had been much excited and distressed by the late events, and on the
20th again became insane. The Prince of Wales approached Pitt on the
subject of a regency, and Pitt told him that, if the necessity should
arise, he should propose the restrictions of 1789. By March 6 the
king's condition was materially improved and the question became of no
further importance. George bade Willis, his doctor, tell Pitt that he
was quite well, adding, "but what has he not to answer for who is the
cause of my having been ill at all?" Pitt was much distressed. Would an
assurance, he asked Willis, that he would not again trouble the king on
the catholic question "be material to his health?" "Certainly," Willis
replied, "and to his life also."[315] Pitt bade him give the king the
assurance. George was much comforted. Pitt's surrender has been blamed
in strong terms.[316] It cannot be defended completely. The question was
of deep importance to Ireland, and he treated it as a personal matter.
It is, however, unfair to represent his conduct as an attempt to resume
office. His followers constantly urged him to invite Addington to
retire, for they justly regarded him as incompetent, and when they heard
of Pitt's message to the king, they expected that their wish would be
fulfilled. But Addington had received his appointment, and was not
likely to resign it willingly, and Pitt, as Canning complained, would
not make any "forward movement towards the king". Nothing was to be got
from him except that, if the king and Addington earnestly wished him to
continue, he was ready to discuss matters. On the strength of this,
Dundas and others went to Addington, who