King of England.
Letter Signed, three-quarters page, quarto, Queens House March 24, 1783. To My Lord. Fine condition.
“As I shall be extremely glad to see You this morning as early as it may Suit You, I shall not detain You now by a long Epistle. After every sort of Chicanery from the Coalition, to which I have opposed the only weapon an honest Man can employ Streight Dealing, I have brought it to the repeated refusal of laying a Plan of Arrangements before Me for my consideration, upon which Mr. Pitt consented to my breaking off all further Negociation last Night. He has said every thing but that He will engage to remain at the head of the Treasury, which his delicacy made him wish to deferr saying till this Morning, when I am to expect him; I wish therefore Your Attendance here may be as early as possible.
The “Coalition” to which George III refers is the coalition government formed by Lord North (whose twelve-year ministry collapsed in 1782) and the liberal Whig Charles James Fox (whom the king hated), following the failure of Shelburn’s ministry (in power from 1782 to 1783), which reduced George to the lowest point of in his political career. With the formation of this coalition, George III even contemplated abdication, yet within a year the king dramatically turned the situation around, carrying out amid applause the most high-handed act of royal initiative in eighteenth-century England-he defeated a bill proposed by the coalition to reform the East India Company (their “Chicanery”). It was a plan which aroused fear that they intended to perpetuate their power by controlling Eastern patronage, whereas George’s move indicated that he was a guardian of national interest. “He liberated the Crown from the suspicion of corruption and increased its moral stature. After 1782 King George could no longer be accused of bribing Members of Parliament” [John Brooke, King George III]. Subsequently, the ministers resigned and the king appointed William Pitt, the Younger as the country’s new patriotic and capable leader as First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer and Temple as Secretary of State.
Matted in beige and chocolate with a color portrait of the king sitting on his throne. In an antiqued gilt frame measuring 20 1/8 inches wide by 15 1/2 inches high.
Price: $12,500
This item is associated with these categories in our inventory:
- American Revolution
- Royalty
