ABSTRACT
William Pitt's reforms in finance and administration were aimed at making Britain stable and creditworthy. On 19 December Pitt the Younger, son of the great Chatham, accepted the King's commission to form an administration. The 'political nation' was stirring 'out of doors' and opinion for or against the King polarised on hustings throughout the land. In view of the fact that the 1784 Election represented a rout of the King's enemies, it may seem surprising that George III so rarely occupied the centre of the political stage thereafter. The healthy government majority was as much pro-Pitt as pro-George and more anti the old political gang than either. Pitt's restrained reformism is nowhere better in evidence than in the sphere of administration. Government posts had provided much of the lubrication for the patronage machine. Pitt built up efficient departments piecemeal by giving them more work to do and transferring officials from one branch of the service to another when opportunity arose.
