ABSTRACT
SECRETARY O F STA TE FO R W AR A N D T H E CO LO N IES (180J-1806)
L o r d C a s t l e r e a g h served as President o f the Board o f Control both under A ddington and under Pitt, and although a devoted disciple o f P itt his relations w ith the less distinguished chief were from the outset friendly. Soon after taking office Castlereagh w rote privately to Cornwallis: ‘I have every reason to be perfectly satisfied w ith Mr. A ddington’s conduct and unqualified support.’ 1 A ddington, though no t endowed w ith the brains o f a P itt o r a Castlereagh, was a man o f high character, and in intellectual stature was less puny than posterity has been perm itted to suppose. Despite his ‘faltering periods’ and pom pous manners, he w on and retained the respect o f Parliament, and enjoyed in full measure the confidence o f his Sovereign. The feelings o f George III towards P itt and A ddington respectively curiously an ticipated those o f his great-grandson fo r Mr. Balfour and Sir H enry Campbell Bannerman. Unfortunately, however, fo r A ddington’s reputation, a hundred people are familiar w ith the defamatory lampoons o f Canning for every one w ho is at pains to investigate the facts. The least tenacious memory can retain the jingling distich:
Pitt is to Addington, As London is to Paddington;
and m ost people are familiar w ith the somewhat more subtle satire o f Good Intentions:
’Twere best no doubt the truth to tell But still good soul he means so well\ Others with necromantic skill, May bend men’s passions to their will.
