The conclusion of the war was followed by the down fal of the minister. This was partly accomplished by the power and genius of Pitt, and the Whig interest in parliament ; but still more by the popular outcry which . was raised against the minister, and by the virulent pub lications which issued from the press. At the head of those popular writers was John Wilkes, the member of parliament for Aylesbury, and editor of a paper called the North Briton, remarkable for its invectives against the ministry, and its scurrility against the Scotch nation. To the flame of popular hatred the minister at last yielded, and was succeeded by Mr George Grenville, who began his ministerial career by prosecuting Wilkes. This demagogue had not scrupled, in one of the num bers of the North Briton, to accuse his majesty directly of falsehood. The king's messenger, by virtue of a ge neral warrant, entered Mr Wilkes' house, and appre hended him. After being examined before the secre taries of state, he was committed to the Tower, and his papers were seized and sealed up. A few days after, he was brought to 1Vestminster-hall by habeas corpus, and released by Lord Chief-Justice Pratt, in consideration of his being a member of parliament. The parliament ordered the seditious paper to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman,—an operation that produced a riot, not in itself dangerous, but which served to disco ver the angry spirit of the populace. Mr Wilkes was soon after expelled from the House of Commons, and found it prudent to retire to the Continent. The intem perance of party was never so violent as at this period ; but, however contemptible the origin of the tumult, the effects were favourable to liberty. General warrants lost their supposed legality, and the seizure of papers, in consequence of such warrants was no longer to be sane Wilkes prosecuted the secretary of state for seizing his papers, he obtained a verdict of damages. It was on this memorable occasion, that Chief-Justice Pratt, after pronouncing the warrant under which Mr Wilkes was seized illegal, concluded his speech with these words : " If the higher jurisdiction should declare my opinion to be erroneous, I submit, as will become me, and kiss the rod ; but I must say, I shall always consider it as a rod of iron for the chastisement of the people of Great Britain." The administration of Mr Grenville was the source of misfortunes to Britain, which are felt at the present day. For a long time there bad existed a trade between the Spanish and American colonies, which, though nominally illicit, was wisely connived at, as it supplied the Americans with their only means of obtaining specie. When ministers found, that their effectual efforts to stop this trade had produ ced only distress to our own trade, they enacted a law which seemed to legalize it ; but such duties were en joined, as in fact amounted to a prohibition. To com plete the climax of impolicy, Mr Grenville enlarged the plan of taxation, by a measure which Sir Robert Wal pole, in all the plenitude of his power, had declared that he durst not attempt. This was to raise a direct reve nue from America. For this purpose, the celebrated stamp act was passed in March 1765. It was carried through the commons by a great majority. Those who opposed it, contended more against the policy than the principle of the measure. General Conway alone pro tested against the right of Great Britain to exercise direct taxation over her colonies. On receiving authen tic intelligence of the stamp act being passed, the in dignation of America broke out into open deeds of vio lence. The ships in the harbour of Boston hung out their colours half mast high, as a signal of the deepest distress. The bells of the city were muffled, and rang out a dumb peal. The act itself, as soon as it came from the king's printing-house, was burnt by the popu lace, together with the effigies of the men most active in passing it. The masters of those vessels which had conveyed the stamps to America, were compelled to deliver up their cargoes to an enraged multitude. Those who had accepted commissions to act as distributors of stamps, were forced by public oath to renounce all con cern in them. The justices of the peace in many parts gave notice, that they would not act in that capacity, to the subversion of the liberties of their country. The gentlemen of the law, in the exercise of their profession, universally renounced the use of British stamps. But the most alarming opposition was made by the mer chants, who entered into solemn engagements, not to import any more goods from Britain till the stamp act should be repealed.
But while the Grenville ministry showed their con fidence and security by this bold act, they were ap proaching to their downfall. In the arrangement of a bill for eventually settling a regency in case of the de mise of the crown, they gave offence to the court, by omitting the princess dowager of Wales. Overtures were secretly made to Mr Pitt and Lord Temple, by the party of Leicester house. These were discovered by Mr Grenville, who no longer thought of keeping measures with the Leicester house cabinet ; but urged an immediate dismission of Stuart MtKenzie, the bro ther of Lord Bute, and of the Duke of Northumberland and Lord Holland, his known supporters.
Mr Pitt and Lord Temple answered the application of the court, by insisting on a total change of men and measures. Finding them immoveable, the court applied to the Duke of Newcastle, and that body of the Whigs afterwards known by the name of the Rockingham party. Had these men joined in a manly adherence to Mr Pitt's terms, it is probable that secret influence would have received an irrecoverable blow ; but unhap pily the Newcastle party proved flexible, and the Duke of Cumberland, the negociator, had the happiness to see, before his death, the new administration settled in office.
The privy seal, with the patronage of the church, was given to the Duke of Newcastle. The Marquis of Rockingham became first lord of the treasury ; Mr Dowdeswell, chancellor of the exchequer ; the Duke of Grafton and General Conway, secretaries of state. The admiralty was assigned to Earl Egmont ; and the great seal to Lord Northington. Lord Temple, with great bitterness, but Mr Pitt, with a proper decorum, condemned an acceptance of place at a time when the court might so easily have been brought to terms. The new ministers, on the other hand, charged the friends of Mr Pitt with undue inflexibility, and with preferring to put all to hazard, when some great points might, with certainty, be secured.
The oppressive and vexatious regulations of the stamp act excited, as had been predicted, an imme diate and general discontent throughout America ; a spirit which broke out into open tumult in the neigh bourhood of Boston. Intelligence of this alarming spirit had reached ministers before the meeting of par liament, which was opened by a speech truly marked with the liberal principles of the new ministers; and recommending conciliation to America.
On this occasion, Mr Pitt, with great manliness, stated his approbation of many of the new ministers, and declared that he was disposed to hope well from their measures. " But confidence," he added, 44 is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom." George Grenville having inveighed against the Americans, the spirit of the patriot took fire, and burst forth into one of the most eloquent replies that ever echoed within the walls of any assembly. It concluded with emphatically urg ing the immediate, absolute, and unconditional, repeal of the stamp act.
A bill was accordingly alMost immediately introduced for its aholition ; and, notwithstanding a violent opposi tion, it passed both houses by a great majority. It was accompanied with a declaratory act, asserting the power and right of Great Britain to bind the colonies in all cases whatever.
This last act, when it reached America, was univer sally regarded as a mere salvo for the honour of the mother country ; and, on that account, scarcely dimi nished the joy which was expressed at the repeal of the stamp act ; nor, according to all human probability, would it have been ever enumerated by the Americans among their grievances, if the British government had not returned to the practical plan of taxation for a re venue. The Rockingham administration had the merit of reconciling America ; and of other measures which, although of less importance, were also patriotic and po pular. Several obnoxious taxes were repealed, and general warrants were declared illegal. Unhappily for the good of their country, their duration was short; and it is still more to be regretted, that they fell by the in fluence of that man who, on other great occasions, had never swerved from the interests of the state. Lord Chatham, probably prompted by resentment at the late dereliction of the Rockingham Whigs, accepted a eartc Manche from the court to come into power. He could not be ignorant, that the great cause of that offence, which the court secretly cherished against the Rock ingham Whigs, was owing to their lenity towards Ame rica; yet he alienated himself from that moderate and respectable party, and vainly trusted to carry his own plans respecting America into effect in a ministry com posed of Whigs and Tories, a discordant junction, which Mr Burke so aptly compared to a lesselated pavement. In the new ministry, the Duke of Grafton was appointed first lord of the treasury ; Mr Pitt, nuw created Earl of Chatham, accepted the office of lord privy seal. Their associates in office were the Earl of Shelburne, Lord Camden, and Mr Charles Townsend. The last, who was by no means attached to the Whigs, was made chancellor of the exchequer. Scarcely had the ministry commenced their career, when the impolitic system of taxing the colonies was renewed. He introduced a bill for imposing a tax on tea, glass, and colours, imported into America; glossing over the measure as coming within the acknowledged principles of commercial regulation ; whilst the payment of these duties into the British ex chequer virtually amounted to direct taxation. This passed with little or no opposition at home. In this and other financial acts, Lord Chatham bore no part; being confined by extreme illness from executing any of the duties of his office. When, on the death of Mr Charles Townsend, Lord North succeeded to his place, Chat ham was convinced, that his influence on public transactions was at an end, and lie resigned ; but he had not resigned before intelligence had arrived of the ef fects of Mr Townsend's new stamp act. America pre sented a scene of discontent bordering on rebellion ; and though tranquillity was apparently restored at Boston, by an armed force, it vas not of long duration. In the mean time a war had broken out in the East Indies be tween the British and Hyde,' Ally, which was carried on with various success. The Irish obtained an act, by which the parliament of that country, determinable for merly at the king's decease, was appointed to be chosen every eight years. Other events of lesser moment oc curred in this year; but the public attention was chiefly engrossed by the reappearance of Mr IVilkes.