ABSTRACT
The resignation of the Duke of Grafton in January, 1770, is a turning point in the political history of the reign of George III.; and, though it did not appear likely at the time, was to prove a piece of rare good fortune for the king, marking as it does the beginning of an era happier for the court though more disastrous for the country. Refusing to acknowledge defeat, clinging to hope in the face of great adversity, and ever on the alert for a favourable turn of fortune, the ostracised whigs had never abandoned their attack upon the principles of personal government; and if George III. Speaking in the house of commons in 1769, he remarked that during the previous seven years he had never given his support to any of the popular measures; and such a boast could not but sound gratefully in the ears of George III.
