er and continental affairs absorbed the attention of the king, they
completely usurped the government of the country. They were strong in
the house of lords, and secured their position in the commons by
employing the patronage of the crown, the money of the nation, and their
own wealth and influence to control the borough elections. For nearly
fifty years a small number of whig lords shared the government of the
country among themselves. During Walpole's administration the whigs
became split into sections. Several of the more powerful lords of the
party had each his own following or "connexion" in parliament, composed
of men bound to him by family ties, interest, or the gift of a seat.
These sections, while they agreed in keeping the crown out of all part
in the government, and the tories out of all share in the good things
which the crown had to bestow, struggled with one another for office.

[Sidenote: _THE KING INTENDS TO RULE._]

Meanwhile the tories were left out in the cold. So long as jacobitism
was a danger to the state, this was not a fair cause of complaint, for
many tories had corresponded with the exiled princes. By 1760, however,
tories had become as loyal as whigs. George was fully determined to put
an end to this state of things: he would be master in his own kingdom;
he and not the whigs should govern England. He naturally rejoiced to see
the tories, a large and important body of his subjects, reconciled to
the throne; and as he had been brought up in tory principles, he
welcomed with peculiar pleasure the support of the party of prerogative.
The tories were no longer to be neglected by the crown; the whig
monopoly was to be brought to an end. He did not contemplate taking
political power from one party in order to vest it in another. He
designed to rule independently of party; no political section was
necessarily to be excluded from office, but no body of men, whether
united by common principles or common interest, was henceforth to
dictate to the crown. To be willing and able to carry on the government
in accordance with his will was to be the sole qualification for a share
in the administration. Ministers might or might not be agreed on matters
of the first importance; all the agreement between them which was
necessary was that each in his own sphere should act as an agent of the
king's policy.

The system was not so impossible as it would be at present. The idea of
the cabinet as a homogeneous body