the other. In 1774 he was
elected member for Bristol, and continued so until 1780, when differences
with his constituency on the questions of Irish trade and Catholic
emancipation led to his resignation, after which he sat for Malton until
his final retirement from public life. Under the administration of Lord
North (1770-1782) the American war went on from bad to worse, and it was
in part owing to the splendid oratorical efforts of B. that it was at
last brought to an end. To this period belong two of his most brilliant
performances, his speech on _Conciliation with America_ (1775), and his
_Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol_ (1777). The fall of North led to
Rockingham being recalled to power, which, however, he held for a few
months only, dying in the end of 1782, during which period B. held the
office of Paymaster of the Forces, and was made a Privy Councillor.
Thereafter he committed the great error of his political life in
supporting Fox in his coalition with North, one of the most flagitious,
as it was to those concerned in it, one of the most fatal, political acts
in our parliamentary history. Under this unhappy combination he continued
to hold during its brief existence the office of Paymaster, and
distinguished himself in connection with Fox's India Bill. The coalition
fell in 1783, and was succeeded by the long administration of Pitt, which
lasted until 1801. B. was accordingly for the remainder of his political
life in opposition. In 1785 he made his great speech on _The Nabob of
Arcot's Debts_, and in the next year (1786) he moved for papers in regard
to the Indian government of Warren Hastings, the consequence of which was
the impeachment of that statesman, which, beginning in 1787, lasted until
1794, and of which B. was the leading promoter. Meanwhile, the events in
France were in progress which led to the Revolution, and culminated in
the death of the King and Queen. By these B. was profoundly moved, and
his _Reflections on the French Revolution_ (1790) electrified England,
and even Europe. Its success was enormous. The same events and the
differences which arose regarding them in the Whig party led to its break
up, to the rupture of B's friendship with Fox, and to his _Appeal from
the New to the Old Whigs_. In 1794 a terrible blow fell upon him in the
loss of his son Richard, to whom he was tenderly attached, and in whom he
saw signs of promise, which were not patent to others, and which in fact
appear to