ABSTRACT
It is not improbable that when parliament was prorogued in May, 1770, until the following autumn, Lord North indulged himself in the pleasant fancy that he had seen the worst of his troubles; and that, whatever the future had in store, it was hardly likely to bring that incessant and harassing anxiety which had attended him in the early stages of his career as first minister. Nor was it only by reason of the inherent strength of his own position that North was justified in regarding the future with equanimity; in addition, count upon deriving no little benefit from the very probable decline in the vigour and effectiveness of the opposition. The downfall of the opposition was indeed complete, and when parliament re-assembled in January, 1772, Chatham was not found in his place. The opposition had failed very largely because it deserved to fail, and neither Rockingham, Chatham nor Grenville can escape their share of the responsibility for the disaster.
