Ministry of the Chits

The Ministry of the Chits[1] was the government of the Kingdom of England from November 1679 to 1688. The administration was led by three young ministers, collectively known as the chits:[2] Laurence Hyde (Earl of Rochester, 1682), Sidney Godolphin (Lord Godolphin, 1684) and the Earl of Sunderland.

Rochester, brother-in-law of King Charles II's brother James, Duke of York, served as First Lord of the Treasury until "kicked upstairs" (term coined by Lord Halifax[3]) as Lord President of the Council in September 1684. On the Duke of York's succession as King James II in February 1685, Rochester returned as Lord High Treasurer. He was troubled by the King's Catholicism and disputed religious matters with him. On 4 January 1687 James II dismissed Rochester and his brother the Earl of Clarendon, replacing both with Catholic appointees, Lord Belasyse (aged 72) and Lord Arundell (aged 79).

Sunderland, who served variously as Northern Secretary and Southern Secretary, and additionally as Lord President of the Council from 1685, remained in post until his dismissal by James II in October 1688, when he fled to Rotterdam.

Godolphin, First Lord of the Treasury 1684–85, was retained at the Treasury by William III, returning as First Lord in the Carmarthen Ministry of 1690.

The Chits

The moniker "the chits" stems from a satirical verse on the three ministers, attributed to John Dryden by Johnson's Dictionary:[4]

But Sunderland, Godolphin, Lory,
These will appear such chits in story,
'Twill turn all politics to jests,
To be repeated like John Dory,
While fiddlers sing at feasts.[5]

The Ministry

November 1679 to September 1684
OFFICENAMETERM
First Lord of the TreasuryThe Earl of Rochester1679–1684
Treasury Commissioner
Northern Secretary		Sidney Godolphin1679–1684
1684
Northern Secretary
Southern Secretary
Northern Secretary		The Earl of Sunderland1679–1680
1680–1681
1683–1684
Lord Chancellor
Lord Keeper		The 1st Earl of Nottingham1679–1682
The Lord Guilford1682–1684
Lord President of the CouncilThe Earl of Radnor1679–1684
Lord Privy SealThe Earl of Anglesey1679–1682
The Marquess of Halifax1682–1684
Lord StewardThe Duke of Ormonde1679–1684
Lord ChamberlainThe Earl of Arlington1679–1684
Southern SecretaryHenry Coventry1679–1680
The Earl of Sunderland1680–1681
Sir Leoline Jenkins1681–1684
Northern SecretaryThe Earl of Sunderland1679–1680
Sir Leoline Jenkins1680–1681
The Earl of Conway1681–1683
The Earl of Sunderland1683–1684
Sidney Godolphin1684
Chancellor of the ExchequerSir John Ernle1679–1684
First Lord of the AdmiraltySir Henry Capell1679–1681
The 2nd Earl of Nottingham1681–1684
  • Lord Nottingham was Lord Chancellor until 1682, when Lord Guilford assumed the same position; however, the latter had not yet acceded to the peerage, and was therefore forced to assume the position of Lord Keeper. For all intents and purposes, these positions are identical, and have been formatted as such.
  • Additionally, there were two Earls of Nottingham: the elder Nottingham served as Lord Chancellor, and his successor to the earldom served as First Lord of the Admiralty.

September 1684 to February 1685
OFFICENAMETERM
First Lord of the TreasuryThe Lord Godolphin1684–1685
Southern SecretaryThe Earl of Sunderland1684–1685
Lord President of the CouncilThe Earl of Rochester1684–1685
Lord KeeperThe Lord Guilford1684–1685
Lord Privy SealThe Marquess of Halifax1684–1685
Lord StewardThe Duke of Ormonde1684–1685
Lord ChamberlainThe Earl of Arlington1684–1685
Northern SecretaryThe Earl of Middleton1684–1685
Chancellor of the ExchequerSir John Ernle1684–1685

February 1685 to October 1688
OFFICENAMETERMHow left office
Lord High Treasurer
First Lord of the Treasury		The Earl of Rochester1685–1687
The Lord Belasyse1687–1689
Chamberlain to the Queen
Treasury Commissioner		The Lord Godolphin1685–1687
1687–1689		"He adhered to James till the last; he was one of the council of five [the others were Belasyse, Preston, Jeffreys and Arundell] appointed to remain in London when James advanced to Salisbury [on 17 November], and he was sent with Halifax and Nottingham to treat with the Prince of Orange at Hungerford in December."[6]
Lord President of the Council and Southern Secretary
Lord President of the Council and Northern Secretary		The Earl of Sunderland1685–1688Dismissed 27 October 1688[7]
The Viscount PrestonOctober 1688
Lord ChancellorThe Lord Jeffreys1685–1688Surrendered the great seal to the king, 8 December 1688[8]
Lord Privy SealThe Earl of Clarendon1685–1687
The Lord Arundell of Wardour1687–1688"On the abdication of James, Arundell retired to his house at Breamore, Hampshire, and took no further part in public life."[9]
Lord StewardThe Duke of Ormonde1685–1688Died 21 July 1688
Lord ChamberlainThe Earl of AilesburyJuly 1685 – October 1685Died 20 October 1685
The Earl of Mulgrave1685–1689"Upon William's landing in England Mulgrave remained with James in London until the time of his flight. When the news of his capture in Kent [on 11 December] reached London, Halifax wished to adjourn the council of lords, who carried on a provisional government, in order to avoid the responsibility of action. But Mulgrave, begging them to keep their seats, introduced the king's messenger, and prevailed on them to send Lord Feversham to the assistance of James (Mulgrave, Account of the Revolution). He came to the aid also of the Spanish ambassador when the mob demolished his house, inviting him to Whitehall and paying him marked honour. For this conduct, which avoided friction with the Spanish court, he received the thanks of both James and William. On the establishment of the revolutionary government Mulgrave quietly submitted and voted for associating William with Mary on the throne."[10]
Northern SecretaryThe Earl of Middleton1685–October 1688Transferred to Southern Department Oct. 1688[11]
Southern SecretaryThe Earl of MiddletonOctober 1688"[H]e justified the confidence reposed in him by remaining faithful to James to the last. After the king's sudden withdrawal to Faversham [on the night of 10/11 December] he declined to attend the meeting of the lords and privy council called to consider the steps to be taken in the crisis (Clarke, Life of James II, ii. 259). Nevertheless he was one of the four nobles deputed by them to invite the king to return to Whitehall, and was present with him at Whitehall when a message came from the Prince of Orange that James should retire from London. At the king's request he arranged for his withdrawal to Rochester [on 18 December]. Subsequently he waited on the king there to surrender the seals of the secretary's office, and endeavoured to induce him to abandon his projected flight and to summon a parliament. It was to him that the king, after making his secret escape, left the paper containing his reasons for ‘withdrawing himself from England.’ "[12]
Chancellor of the ExchequerSir John Ernle1685–1688

References
  1. Treasure, Geoffrey; Dawson, Ian (1998). Who's Who in British History, Vol.1, A-H: Hyde, Laurence, Earl of Rochester. Google Books. ISBN 9781884964909. Retrieved 6 May 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Ward, Adolphus William (1891). "Hyde, Laurence" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  3. Macaulay, Thomas Babington (1889). The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Vol. 1. London: Longmans. p. 136.
  4. Johnson, Samuel (1773). "A Dictionnary of the English Language (4th ed.)". Google Books. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  5. Russell, Lord John (1820). "The Life of William Lord Russell, Vol. 1, p.182". Google Books. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  6. Dictionary of National Biography article
  7. Dictionary of National Biography article
  8. Dictionary of National Biography article
  9. Dictionary of National Biography article
  10. Dictionary of National Biography article
  11. 'Lists of appointments', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 2, Officials of the Secretaries of State 1660-1782, ed. J C Sainty (London, 1973), pp. 22-58. British History Online accessed 13 January 2018.
  12. Dictionary of National Biography article
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