The Chancellor, Lord Northington, disgusted with the dilatoriness and irresolution of the Ministers; and seeing they would neither embrace the Favourite, nor could do without him; and perceiving, too, that the King was determined to suffer them on no other terms than compliance, was alarmed for his own interest; and apprehending that if Mr. Pitt, as was probable he would, became the Minister, Lord Camden would expect the Seals, made a pretence of quarrelling with the Ministers, complaining most untruly that he was not consulted nor summoned on cases,[262] which had not only been submitted to him, but had waited for him and suffered by his delay. All this, however, being but negative, the Chancellor wished to have more positive merit, and accordingly told the King (and possibly had his Majesty’s own orders for telling him so) that this Ministry could not go on, and that his Majesty must send for Mr. Pitt. Whether this meanness was officious, or whether instilled into him, was not certainly known. The motion was at least so acceptable that the Chancellor certainly opened a new negotiation with Mr. Pitt. Lord Bute’s friends asserted solemnly that this treaty, which was kept very secret, was known only to his Majesty, and concluded without the least privity of the Favourite--a tale too improbable to meet with the least credit.
As a signal of what was to ensue, on the 7th of July the Chancellor went in to the King, and declared he would resign; a notification he had not deigned to make to the Ministers, but which he took care they should know, by declaring openly what he had done. When the Ministers saw the King, he said coolly, “Then I must see what I can do.”[263]
The next day the Duke and Mr. Conway came to me in the country to ask my opinion on the present crisis. I said, I believed it was the signal of a change, but as it was yet uncertain whether the Chancellor had acted from self-interested fear, or by concert with the King, the wisest step for the Ministers would be to seize the opportunity, and on Wednesday, the next Court-day, (it being now Monday,) resign their places very civilly on want of the King’s confidence, and recommend to his Majesty to send for Mr. Pitt. This, if the King was not prepared with a Ministry, would greatly distress him; and whether Pitt, or Grenville, or the Bedfords were sent for, they would give harder terms to Lord Bute when at their mercy. That _their_ recommending Pitt might prevent the King’s sending for him; and then nothing would be so odious and unpopular as the Bedford faction united with Bute, while Pitt and the present Ministers should be out of place. That if Pitt did become Minister, he would be hampered by _their_ recommendation; it would hurt his popularity if he did not take them in, and must be an obstacle to his preferring the Bedfords. I added that this recommendation would be entirely consistent with Mr. Conway’s past declarations, which had always been in favour of Mr. Pitt, and would bind the Duke of Grafton more firmly to Conway. This advice was extremely tasted by Mr. Conway, not at all by the Duke, who had no partiality for Mr. Pitt.