1819 Mar. 28

To Erskine 3 Whig Merits[?]

The original unpopularity of the King, with the additional stock laid in by the American war not being yet sufficient, in 1780 or thereabouts, the Whigs betook themselves to Parliamentary Reform Having dissipated his part of the /a[?]/ unaccounted millions, starving for want of more /of the public money/, Charles Fox took a leading part, joined with Pitt in this last thought of and desperate resource for getting at it.

Pitt the second getting in, Fox the second was left out. Pitt's reform ended in a remedy which would have exasperated the disease: oppressing the country /cramming the House/ with an additional hundred of fox-hunting and coronet-hunting idlers. Not a party in the country, scarcely an individual in the country except the hundred knights and their near connections, to which this reform would not have been worse than useless.

Thereupon came the Coalition. Whig Fox and Whig Burke gave the right hand of fellowship to Tory North: Antony embraced Lepidus. Now came another Revolution in view: Now come in again the great cause, Aristocracy against Monarchy. Aristocracy, a house divided against itself could not stand. No James was at hand. George's Wife had given him so many children, she had made him popular. George triumphed. For some time however it had been a measuring cast. Passing not long after through Germany, I visited his /the/ Hanoverian palace. I found it newly swept and garnished. How comes this? Sir, (said the Major-domo) his Majesty was expected here.

No sooner had his Majesty lost his royal senses, than his popularity became complete: no recovery could shake it.