Lord Shelburne believed himself to have an irresistible claim to the chief post in the administration; among other reasons, because he might have had it before Lord Rockingham three months earlier, if he had so chosen.

The king supported him, not from any partiality to his person, but because he dreaded and hated Charles Fox.

The character of Shelburne is one of the perplexities of the time.

His views on peace and free trade make him one of the precursors of the Manchester School.

No minister was so well informed as to the threads of policy in foreign countries.