his innovations.  Thoroughly acquainted with his own service, he had introduced everywhere, and especially into the dockyards, a bold and unsparing reform, which no ingenuity could evade, and which was felt the more from being coincident with the reductions of peace.  All who were thus cut off, and others whose emoluments he curtailed, naturally became hostile; and the inconvenience always created by a change, and which it was the direct interest of so many to aggravate, afforded too favourable opportunities for the prejudiced to misrepresent, and the candid to misunderstand him.  In abolishing the practice of building line-of-battle ships in private yards, he took a step of which all subsequent experience has proved the wisdom; but it united against him an extensive and most powerful interest.  It was contended that his measures displayed great and unnecessary harshness, and were calculated to break down the effectiveness of the navy.  Very many persons of the highest integrity, too little acquainted with the facts, were thus deceived; and even Mr. Pitt, though he had recommended Earl St. Vincent for the Admiralty, believed that he was weakening the most important arm of the country.  Under such circumstances, Sir Edward Pellew was recalled, ostensibly, that the Admiralty might confer with him upon these disputed questions.  Nothing could be more flattering to him, or indeed more honourable to both parties, than this confidence; for there had never been much cordiality between Earl St. Vincent and Sir Edward, who was both politically and personally an admirer of Mr. Pitt; and it was clear to every one that the ministry was about to fall.  But the Earl was too conscious of the wisdom of his measures to fear the judgment of a candid opponent; and he too well appreciated Sir Edward’s character not to feel assured that he would allow no private motive, or political predilection, to interfere with the discharge of his duty.

Thus, when Mr. Pitt gave notice of a motion for inquiry into the state of the navy, of which the avowed object was to censure the naval administration, a mutual friend was employed by the Admiralty to learn Sir Edward’s opinion of the subjects it embraced, and on finding that his judgment condemned them, to induce him to express his sentiments in the House.  To this proposal he readily assented.  They had all engaged his attention previously, particularly that relating to the gun-boats, which he had frequently discussed with the late Sir Sidney Smith, who contended that they might be made effective against a line-of-battle ship.  Sir Edward would always say, “I should choose to be in the line-of-battle ship.”  On the day he went to the House, he observed in a letter to his brother that he now quite understood why he had been recalled from Ferrol.