cabinet, and those of Mr. Fox, that he knew of no reason _in God's
earth_ for that gentleman's resignation, but that of his having
succeeded to the office of premier, was surely sufficiently singular.

But he is celebrated for being a man of large professions, and by these
professions he has induced some persons in different classes in society,
to esteem him the friend of liberty and renovation. What he has held
out, however, upon these heads, has not been entirely confident. He has
appeared the enthusiastical partizan of the aristocracy, a kind of
government, which, carried to its height, is perhaps, of all the
different species of despotism, the most intolerable. He has talked in a
very particular stile of his fears of reducing the regal power to a
shadow, of his desire that the extension of prerogative should keep pace
with the confirmation of popular rights, and his resolution, that, if it
were in his power to prevent it, a king of England should never be
brought to a level with a king of Mahrattas. The true sons of freedom
will not certainly be very apprehensive upon this score, and will leave
it to the numbers that will ever remain the adherents of monarchical
power, to guard the barriers of the throne. In opposition, his
declarations in favour of parliamentary reform seemed indeed very
decisive. In administration, he was particularly careful to explain away
these declarations, and to assure the people that he would never employ
any influence in support of the measure, but would only countenance it
so far as it appeared to be the sense of parliament. In other words,
that he would remain neutral, or at most only honour the subject with an
eloquent harangue, and interest himself no further respecting it.

But let us proceed from his language to his conduct in office. Almost
every salutary measure of administration, from the resignation of lord
North downward, was brought about during the union of the noble earl