sir, annihilated party; and, I hope you
will, in the end, bear down and conquer the hydra of faction, which now
rears its hundred heads against you. I remember his saying, that for
the good of the people he dared to look the proudest connexions of this
country in the face: I trust that the same spirit animates his son: and
as he has the same support of the crown, and of the people, I am firmly
persuaded that the same success will follow." But the sentiments which
the people of England entertained towards Pitt and his rival were more
fully manifested, during, and by, the results of the election. The Pitt
candidates were returned on every hand by triumphant majorities, and not
less than one hundred and sixty of the old members of opposition lost
their seats, and were sent back to private life with the ludicrous
appellation of "Fox's Martyrs." But it must not be supposed that this
result was entirely owing to the popularity of the young premier. The
press, that mighty engine for good or evil, had been set to work to
undermine the power of the coalition, and lampoons and satires on Fox
and North had been printed daily and scattered throughout the country.
Moreover, as Pitt had from the first contemplated a dissolution of
parliament, every influence which a government could command had been
employed in his favour. Finally, the youth of Pitt, and the bold stand
he had made against his opponents, had a powerful tendency to gain him
the support of the nation. Though inexperienced, men saw in him the
future champion of parliamentary reform; and the powerful antagonist of
that aristocratic confederacy, against which his father had exerted his
talents. The star of Pitt was, in truth, in the ascendant; while that of
his rival set in gloom. Fox was returned to parliament, but it was
with some difficulty that he obtained a seat. He was a candidate for
Westminster, and had a majority on the poll over Sir Cecil Wray, but the
high-bailiff, by a scandalous partiality, refused to make a return in
his favour. Fox brought an action against the bailiff in the court of
king's bench, and obtained considerable damages; and in the meantime,
he secured a seat for the borough of Kirkwall, in Orkney, by which he
exposed himself to the ridicule of his enemies as a person banished to
the "Ultima Thule."

{GEORGE III. 1784-1786}

MEETING OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT.

The meeting of the new parliament took place on the 18th of May. In his
speech, t