350 Letter 204 To Sir Horace Mann.  Strawberry Hill, November 29,

No material event has yet happened under the new administration; indeed it has scarce happened itself:  your new master, Mr. Pitt, has been confined in the country with the gout, and came to town but within these two days.  The world, who love to descry policy in every thing, and who have always loved to find it in Mr. Pitt’s illnesses, were persuaded that his success was not perfect enough, and that he even hesitated whether he should consummate.  He is still so lame that he cannot go to court—­to be sure the King must go to him He takes the seals on Saturday; the Parliament meets on Thursday, but will adjourn for about ten days for the re-elections.  The new ministers are So little provided with interest in boroughs, that it is almost an administration out of Parliament.  Mr. Fox has already attacked their seats, and has undermined Dr. Hay, one of the new admiralty, in Stockbridge:  this angers extremely.  The Duke of Newcastle is already hanging out a white flag to Pitt; but there is so little disposition in that quarter to treat, that they have employed one Evans-, a lawyer, to draw up articles of impeachment against Lord Anson.  On the other hand they show great tenderness to Byng, who has certainly been most inhumanly and spitefully treated by Anson.  Byng’s trial is not yet appointed.  Lord Effingham, Cornwallis, and Stuart are arrived, and are to have their conduct examined this day se’nnight by three general officers.  In the mean time the King, of his own motion, has given a red riband and an Irish barony to old Blakeney, who has been at court in a hackney-coach, with a foot soldier behind it.  As he has not only lost his government, but as he was bedrid while it was losing, these honours are a little ridiculed:  we have too many governors that will expect titles, if losses are pretensions!  Mr. Obrien is made Earl of Thomond:(734) my Lady Townshend rejoices; she says he has family enough to re-establish the dignity of the Irish peerage, to which of late nothing but brewers and poulterers have been raised; that she expected every day to receive a bill from her fishmonger, signed Lord Mountshrimp!

I promised you a list of the changes when they should be complete.  They are very conveniently ready to fill the rest of my letter.

Transcriber’s note:  In the print copy the following information is given in three columns:  the new office-holder on the left, the office in the middle, and the previous office-holder on the right.

Duke of Devonshire, in the room of the duke of Newcastle

(P) Mr. Legge, Chancellor of exchequer, in the room of (N) Sir G. Lyttelton a peer.

(N) Mr. Nugent, Lord Duncannon, (P) Mr. J. Grenville, of the Old Treasury; in the room of Mr. Furnese, dead; (N) mr.  Obrien, Irish Earl.

Mr. w.  Pitt, Secretary of State, in the room of mr.  Fox.

Lord Buckingham, Lord of bedchamber, in the room of Lord Fitzwilliam, dead.