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The Age of George III

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The ministry of Augustus Henry Fitzroy, third Duke of Grafton October 1768 - January 1770

Grafton became PM in his own right after Chatham's resignation, having acted as caretaker Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury in Chatham's ministry (1766-68). Grafton's appointment made little difference to government because he was a political light-weight who took office from a sense of loyalty and duty. He had a number of problems to deal with and from November 1768 the 'Junius' letters in the Public Advertiser made Grafton and his administration the butt of fierce political satire. 'Junius' sided with Wilkes and attacked government inefficiency and its apparent disregard for law. 'Junius' held up George III and Grafton for popular hatred. Other problems were perhaps more serious:

The ministry was attacked by Chatham who recovered in summer 1769

Grafton had to deal with Petitioning Movement and was unable to decide what to do with petitions that had been signed by about a quarter of the electorate

Ireland was causing problems. Henry Grattan and Patriot Party were increasing in power and in 1768 Grafton was obliged to pass the Octennial Act

There were problems in passing the 'Money Bill' (the budget). For a ministry, this was a sign of weakness

There was a threat of war with France and Spain over the Falkland islands

Grafton had just divorced his wife

There were more problems with America, including riots and a non-importation agreement

There was the likelihood of Hillsborough (Secretary for American Affairs) leaving government and going into opposition.

Grafton found it all too much and resigned on 21st January 1770, just two weeks into new session of parliament.

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Last modified 19 August, 2007

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