The Bottomless Pitt
This print shows Prime Minister William Pitt adressing the House of Commons and disputing the demand for additional papers to be laid upon the table for review by House members. It was published on March 16, 1792—one of three prints that appeared within two days of one another after a lull in Gillray's production throughout most of February and March. They include Malagrida Driving Post on March 16 and Design for the New Gallery of Busts and Pictures on March 17.
© Trustees of the British Museum
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Both those other prints concerned Britain's disastrous policy on Russia and Turkey usually described at the time as the Russian Armament. Malagrida envisioned a possible change in administration as a result of the crisis of confidence precipitated by the failure of the ministry's threats against Russia. The Design for the New Gallery concerned Catherine the Great's appreciative response to Fox's arguments for staying clear of Russo-Turkish politics. It seems likely, then, that The Bottomless Pitt in addition to its obvious ridicule of Pitt's figure, is a reflection of the same issues.
In brief, Pitt feared the growing power of Russia. And with a considerable deployment of naval forces from Britain and a rumored 80,000 troops from Prussia, he sought to force Catherine to give up territory she had gained from her wars with Turkey, restoring what he believed was a more favorable balance of power.
It didn't work. And, as a result, there was a lively debate in Parliament in which the Whigs (represented by Mr. Grey) asked for more information about the (apparently wasted) effort and expenses of the operation and the terms of any secret agreements (or entanglements) with Prussia. On their side, the Tories (represented by Pitt) resisted such demands, arguing that releasing such sensitive information would make any of her allies think twice about entering into future negotiations with Britain.
With this context in mind, several interpretations of the title, The Bottomless Pitt suggest themselves. In religious circles, the bottomless pit is sometimes a synonym for hell. So fending off insistent and seemingly endless requests for information about the most embarrassing episode of your administration could be construed as a kind of hell or bottomless pit for the prime minister.
But on the other hand if we assume that Gillray continued to think along the same lines as his Malagrida Driving Post (published the same day as this print), we might interpret The Bottomless Pitt as a visual metaphor for the dangerously diminished support Pitt was experiencing in Parliament.
Or finally, if we remember that Pitt survived the threat to his administration and argued successfully to limit the inquiry into the Russian armament, we might see the title as Gillray's backhanded compliment of Pitt's casuistical abilities to manufacture arguments in defence of his ministry.
Sources and Reading
- Commentary from the British Museum on The Bottomless Pitt.
- "William Pitt the Younger," Wikipedia
- Cobbett's Parliamentary History of England, Vol 29
- Thomas Wright and R.H. Evans, Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray #73
- Thomas Wright and Joseph Grego, The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist; With the History of His Life and Times p. 140.
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