so Pitt, who contemplated returning to work at the bar (Rose, i. 90). Impressed by his high-minded conduct, the London merchants offered him a gift of 100,000l., which he declined. On the 30th he wrote to the prince announcing the provisions of his regency bill, which withheld the power of making peers, and of granting pensions or offices except during pleasure, and placed the king's person and household, with the patronage, amounting to over 200,000l. a year, wholly in the queen's hands. These provisions were drawn up in the well-grounded expectation that the king's disablement was temporary. The bill passed the commons on 5 Feb. 1789 ; its progress in the lords was stopped by the king's recovery. Meanwhile, the Irish parliament had invited the prince to assume the regency in Ireland with full powers, but Pitt upheld the lord lieutenant, the Marquis of Buckingham, in his refusal to present the address to the prince, and recommended creations and promotions in the peerage as rewards of Buckingham's supporters (Court and Cabinets, ii. 146, 156). The violence and tactical mistakes of the opposition were in part responsible for Pitt's triumph at this crisis; but his conduct throughout showed the highest skill and courage. The king was conscious of the debt that he owed him, and both inside and outside parliament his position was stronger than even at the date of his victory over Fox four years before.
The general election of October-November 1790 gave the government an increased majority; on important divisions it was generally well over a hundred. The king pressed Pitt to accept the Garter (December) ; he declined, and requested that it might be conferred on his brother, Lord Chatham (Stanhope, ii. App. p. xiii). At the king's request he accepted, in August 1792, the wardenship of the Cinque ports, which was worth about 3,000l. a year. In the autumn of 1785 he had bought an estate called Hollwood, near Bromley, Kent, raising 4,000l. on it by mortgage, and paying 4,950l. by 1794. He took much delight in the place, and loved to improve it. But his affairs rapidly fell into disorder ; he neglected them, and his servants robbed him.
When the question was raised whether the impeachment of Hastings was abated by the late dissolution, Pitt had an interview with Fox. The rival statesmen treated each other cordially, and came to an agreement. On 17 Dec. Pitt spoke against the abatement with such masterly effect as 'to settle the controversy' (Parl. Hist. xxviii. 1087-1099 ; Life of Sidmouth, i. 80). The dislike of the English in Canada to the Quebec Act of 1774 made legislation necessary, and Pitt, in April 1791, brought forward a bill for the government of Canada. He proposed the creation of two separate colonies, in order that their mutual jealousy might prevent rebellion, and by his 'Constitutional Act' divided the country into Upper and Lower Canada, giving to each its own governor, house of assembly, and legislative council. Provision was made for a protestant clergy from lands called the clergy reserves, and the crown was empowered to grant hereditary honours in Canada. Both these last provisions were strongly opposed by Fox (Parl. Hist. xxix. 111). Soon afterwards Pitt came to an open rupture with Thurlow, the lord chancellor, who had long been an element of discord in the cabinet. Out of consideration for the king, Pitt bore for years with his opposition and ill-temper. In 1792, however, the chancellor vehemently opposed Fox's libel bill, to which Pitt gave a vigorous support. Pitt plainly told the king that he must choose between him and the chancellor, and George dismissed Thurlow (Stanhope, ii. 31, 72, 147-50, App. pp. xii, xiii).
Meanwhile foreign politics made heavy demands on Pitt's attention. Spain, hoping for help from France and Russia, had in 1789 seized a British trading station on Nootka Sound in Vancouver's Island, and had taken some English vessels. Pitt insisted on reparation, obtained a vote of credit in May 1790, and equipped the fleet for service. France, however, was diverted by domestic affairs ; and though for a time war seemed certain, Spain drew back, and on 28 Oct. a convention was signed that satisfied the demands of England. The energy of the government raised Pitt's reputation abroad. In December Pitt, in a supplementary budget, arranged to pay the expense of the armament, amounting to 3,133,000l. in four years by special taxes, which, so far as was possible, touched all classes (Dowell, ii. 195-6). But while insisting on respect for the rights of Great Britain, Pitt was anxious to maintain peace, and to preserve the status quo and the balance of power in Europe. With this object he had, in 1788, forwarded the alliance between Great Britain, Holland, and Prussia. The allies had, by threats of war, saved the independence of Sweden in that year, and their action secured British commerce in the Baltic. Though unable to stop the war of Catherine of Russia whose forward policy was highly distasteful to Pitt and her ally the Emperor Leopold II against the Turks, he persuaded the emperor, in 1790, to make an armistice with the Porte on the basis of the status quo.
