Downing Street, July 3rd, 1788.
My dear Lord,
Nothing could happen to give me more pain than I have felt from
the contents of your letter of the 27th, and from the
circumstance which gave occasion to it. I trust, however, that
on full consideration you will see that there was, in some
respects, less ground than you imagined for the feelings under
which you wrote, and that what I have to mention to you will do
away every idea of your going to the extremity you mention;
which you must forgive my saying that the occasion can never
justify, either towards the public or yourself. It is most
certainly true that the general practice has been, and ought to
be, to wait for the Lord-Lieutenant's recommendation to vacant
commissions, and I undoubtedly understood that the King's wishes
respecting Colonel Gwynne were to be privately intimated to you,
so as to give you the opportunity of officially recommending
them.
I cannot, however, find that the general rule is founded in
anything but practice, or that there is any such promise as you
suppose in the instructions--that the King will wait for the
Lord-Lieutenant's recommendation to military commissions. There
is a clause containing a promise of this nature, but it refers
only to _ecclesiastical_ and _civil_ offices; and from the
manner in which commissions are mentioned in the preceding
article, as well as from the words of the Lord-Lieutenant's
commission, it appears by no means to apply to them. There seems
to me, therefore, to be, strictly speaking, nothing _irregular_
in the King's directing the appointment in the first instance;
though I most sincerely wish such a step had not been taken, and
am persuaded there is no danger of a repetition of it. I mention
this only to show that there is, at least, no such ground for
objecting in point of form to this proceeding as to compel you
to take it up in the strong manner you meditated.
But whatever weight you might give to this observation, I trust
from what you say in your letter, that you can in no degree feel
yourself called upon to carry the business any further, unless
on the supposition of receiving from Lord Sydney an official
answer, justifying his former letter. He is far from having any
intention of sending such an answer, and I am sure, I can
prevail upon him either to leave your last letter without reply,
or, if it will be more satisfactory to you, to let both that and
his letter which gave occasion to it be withdrawn from the
office. This is all which appears to me to be now possible. The
appointment having actually taken place, and being warranted by
the letter both of the instructions and the commission, it is
impracticable to propose anything which would amount to
disavowing the King's own act, and renouncing a power which,
though I hope he will not again be inclined to exercise, he
certainly seems to have reserved in his own hands.
I therefore hope that one of the two expedients I have mentioned
will appear to you satisfactory, and I shall wait most anxiously
to know your wishes on the subject. As to any intention in Lord
Sydney or any one else to show any want of attention personally
to you, or to the situation you fill, I trust you will feel the
impossibility of such an intention existing; because you must
know that there can exist no one motive for such an intention,
and there exists, in fact, every motive for the contrary.
With regard to the disappointment of your views for Colonel
Nugent, I say less on that subject, because, though I most truly
regret it, and most anxiously wish to find any means of
repairing it, I am persuaded from your letter, and from the
nature of the King, that the mere personal disappointment is
what you will not allow to influence your determination on a
subject of so much consequence to the public service, and to us
all. I am satisfied, however, that you will find no difficulty
in obtaining your object for him on some more favourable
occasion, which I hope may occur before long; and if I can find
any way of making any arrangement on this side of the water,
which can make an opening earlier than it would otherwise occur,
you may depend upon my doing everything I can for that purpose.
I have not time to add more now, but will write in a few days in
answer to your former letter. You will easily imagine how
impatiently I shall wait for an answer to this.
Believe me ever, my dear Lord,
Sincerely and affectionately yours,
W. Pitt.
I enclose extracts of those parts of the instructions and
commission to which I refer.