Note 290 — Chapter XVI

The letters that passed between Lord Chatham and his colleagues on the proposed Northern Alliance may be seen in the second volume of his Correspondence. The scheme was a noble one, and had probably been contemplated by Mr. Pitt during his former Administration, as it certainly would have been an appropriate termination of his brilliant prosecution of the war. Unhappily, Lord Bute’s diplomacy had altered the feeling of foreign powers towards this country, and the King of Prussia, especially, was thoroughly alienated from British connections—partly from personal resentment, partly from distrust of the strength of the Government. His Majesty received the proposal most ungraciously; and it certainly reflects no credit on Lord Chatham’s discretion, to have engaged in this difficult negotiation so precipitately. He had not even consulted Sir Andrew Mitchell, the minister at Berlin—his personal friend, and the person, above others, best qualified to furnish correct information as to the views of the King of Prussia.—E.