Vignettes of the Regency : and other studies political and social . imself 82 VIGNETTES OF THE REGENCY quite early in life not only in Parliament,but one of the most favoured proteges of anall-powerful minister. His patron, however,was evidently not impressed with his politicalability, as he carefully abstained from appoint-ing him to any ministerial office, but onthe Speakership becoming vacant in 1789,Addington was at once apprised that, ifthe post accorded with his views, his candi-dature would be duly supported. Accordinglyby a wave, so to speak, of his august patronshand, he was installed
Vignettes of the Regency : and other studies political and social . imself 82 VIGNETTES OF THE REGENCY quite early in life not only in Parliament,but one of the most favoured proteges of anall-powerful minister. His patron, however,was evidently not impressed with his politicalability, as he carefully abstained from appoint-ing him to any ministerial office, but onthe Speakership becoming vacant in 1789,Addington was at once apprised that, ifthe post accorded with his views, his candi-dature would be duly supported. Accordinglyby a wave, so to speak, of his august patronshand, he was installed in the SpeakersChair which he filled with tolerable successfor something over ten years, though, ofcourse, entirely under the domination of thePrime Minister, who in the famous fracaswith Tierney, contemptuously ignored hisintervention and insisted in forcing hisopponent into a duel, which instead ofattempting to stop the Speaker actuallyattended on the Sabbath Day in the recessesof a suburban common ! If the police, whomust surely have got wind of so notable an. The right HONOURABLE HENRY ADDINGTON, Speaker of the House of Commons and Prime Minister, subsequently Viscount Sidmouth. (After the portrait by J. S. Copley, ) THE GOVERNMENT 83 affair, had done their duty the country wouldhave been regaled with the unprecedentedscandal of the Prime Minister and the Speakerof the House of Commons being arraigned atBow Street for being concerned in a dueUingadventiue on the Lords Day ! The events which led to Addingtons trans-ference from the Chair to the seat vacated byhis patron on the Treasury Bench are too wellknown to need recapitulation. In a sentence,the situation may be summed up thus : TheKing and Pitt having quarrelled over CatholicEmancipation they both turned to Adding-ton, whom the King selected as a manageablemediocrity, and Pitt welcomed as an obse-quious locum tenens. But both proved mis-taken. The King found the new ministerpompous and pragmatical, while to Pitt hi
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