he became Earl of Chatham in the county of Kent and Viscount Pitt of Burton Pynsent in the county of Somerset. Pitt's decision to accept a peerage was likely influenced by his declining health and desire for a less demanding role, but the "great commoner" lost a great deal of public support. For example, in view of his probable accession to power, preparations were made in the City of London for a banquet and a general illumination to celebrate the event, but the celebration was at once countermanded when it was known that he had become Earl of Chatham. Edmund Burke described the administration as "chequered and speckled", and spoke of it as "patriots and courtiers, King's friends and republicans; Whigs and Tories ... indeed a very curious show, but utterly unsafe to touch and unsure to stand on". The problems facing the government included the observance of the Treaty of Paris by France and Spain, tension between American colonists and the mother country, and the status of the East India Company. One of the new ministry's earliest acts was to lay an embargo upon corn, which was thought necessary in order to prevent a dearth resulting from the unprecedented bad harvest of 1766. The measure was strongly opposed, and Lord Chatham delivered his first speech in the House of Lords in support of it. It proved to be almost the only measure introduced by his government in which he personally interested himself. In 1767, Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, enacted duties in the American colonies on tea, paper, and other goods. The taxes were created without the consultation of Chatham and possibly against his wishes. They proved offensive to the American colonists. Chatham's attention had been directed to the growing importance of the affairs of India, and there is evidence in his correspondence that he was meditating a comprehensive scheme for transferring much of the power of the East India Company to the crown. Yet he was incapacitated physically and mentally during nearly his entire tenure of office. Chatham rarely saw any of his colleagues though they repeatedly and urgently pressed for interviews with him, and even an offer from the King to visit him in person was respectfully declined. While his gout seemed to improve, he was newly afflicted with mental alienation bordering on insanity. Chatham's lack of leadership resulted in an incohesive set of policies.