The Ministry of the Chits 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: Laurence Hyde (Earl of Rochester, 1682), Sidney Godolphin (Lord Godolphin, 1684) and the Earl of Sunderland.
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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) 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, disputed religious matters with the King. James II dismissed Rochester on 4 January 1687 with his brother the Earl of Clarendon, replacing both with Catholic appointees, Lord Belasyse and Lord Arundell.
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: