ocracy formed new parties,
and acted upon new principles, all calculated, when dictated by the
spirit of opposition, to annoy the sovereign, and disarrange the
machinery of the state. Cabinets, formed with nice art and care,
were unable to withstand their opponents; whence their frequent
disarrangements and dissolutions. The age became signalised by
ministerial revolutions and cabinet abortions; and why? because the
cabinets formed were not supported by public opinion. Parliament itself
had lost much of its credit with the people by reason of its indecisive
measures. It had forfeited their confidence, nor could the recall of
Pitt to the helm of state restore it to their favour, or rescue the
sovereign from the dilemma in which he had placed himself. Intractable
at all times, from the opposition he had met with, and from ill health,
he had become so imperious, that, like an old Roman consul, he would
fain have yoked the people, the cabinet, and the monarch to his
chariot-wheels. Moreover, since he had become an earl, he was a changed
man. He no longer sided with, but against, the people; sheltering
himself from their clamours in the stronghold of privilege. Hence it
was, that when he coalesced with others, he found no support on which
he could lean with safety, and by which he could assist the monarch. His
staff was but a reed on which, if he leant, it pierced his hand. This
Chatham felt; and though he clung tenaciously to office, from the fear
of displaying his weakness and incapacity, he only acted, when he did
act, behind the scenes. Ministerial exertions were also paralysed by
another cause. A prevalent notion existed that there was a mysterious
power about the court which worked to the detriment of the public good.
This was a constant theme of invective among the opposition, and, it
would seem, not without good reason. But there was another cause of
obstruction to the measures formed by government. This was found in
the democratical spirit, which now universally prevailed. Courted by the
aristocracy, who had till very recently

"Held them dangling at arm's length in scorn,"

and grown comparatively wealthy since relieved from the pressure of
war, the population became restless, jealous, and insubordinate. The man
whose fortune was only made, as it were, yesterday, deemed himself as
great a man as the highest and noblest born aristocrat; while the man
who had squandered away his patrimony, sought to restore him