The Grafton ministry (1768–1770)

Abstract

The King seems to have changed his plan of government. The idea of an unconnected independent Administration is given up, and the Duke of Grafton is declared first Minister, with full confidence and ample powers.' 1 So did Grenvillite William Knox write the epitaph of the Chatham experiment of non-party government. Grafton had already sold the pass by admitting the Bedfords as a group. Chatham's resignation finally removed the shadow hanging over the administration, the possibility that he might return and reverse policy decisions taken in his absence. Grafton, now with full power and responsibility, enjoyed the King's wholehearted support throughout his brief ministry: on 13 October George III told the Duke that he was a man 'in whom I can in the most entire manner rely, and whom I sincerely value as a friend'. 2 Grafton possessed more in the way of ability and character than tradition has accorded him, though the distractions of his private life, women and horse racing, may have contributed to his ministerial failure. But he did not have an easy task. Faced with a divided cabinet and an increasingly united and formidable opposition, he inherited also a difficult policy legacy: the fiasco over Corsica, confrontation with John Wilkes over the Middlesex Election, and the ongoing American crisis. All those issues would at once be raised in the new Parliament, for it was due to meet on 8 November. Within the cabinet Grafton obtained scant support from the original Chathamite part of his administration. The respective heads of the army and navy, Lord Granby and Sir Edward Hawke, were little interested in politics. Camden and Conway were both indecisive men, the Lord Chancellor unreliable, the latter still sensitive about offending his former Rockinghamite allies. Fortunately for the Duke, his ministry derived strength from the newer recruits. Lord North was