Hans Sloane owed virtually everything to his relative Hans Stanley, but by 1790 he had lost the latter’s electoral interest at Southampton and was sitting for Christchurch on the interest of James Harris, later Lord Malmesbury. After opposing Pitt over the Regency, he also paired against him on the Oczakov question, 12 Apr. 1791, was listed ‘doubtful’ on the question of Test Act repeal the same month, and voted against him over the Russian armament, 1 Mar. 1792. Thereafter no minority vote is known. Listed a Portland Whig in December 1792, he was among those invited to Windham’s house and attended on 10 and 17 Feb. 1793. He was referred to by Lord Buckingham, writing to Lord Grenville, 4 Oct. 1793, as ‘one of your new converts’, who had ‘passed his summer with his regiment under the Duke of Richmond’.
Malmesbury having lost his interest at Christchurch, Sloane came in by purchase on the Mount Edgcumbe interest in 1796 for Lostwithiel, a seat available to friends of government. He voted and spoke with Pitt at variance with the Addington administration, 3 June 1803, was one of Pitt’s friends who abstained from voting on Wrottesley’s motion, 7 Mar. 1804,
You see Lord Grenville has given ... Sloane a living—it is that which was Jonathan Rashleigh’s in Lincolnshire and I somehow or another [sic] believe it is connected with Sloane’s giving up Parliament as Rashleigh (the brother) managed Lostwithiel for him, which you was to have had and would have had, if Pitt had lived—no blame attached to Sloane in all this.
On 1 Oct. Malmesbury had reported that Sloane had approached Rashleigh about an annuity, ‘but I much fear it will not be listened to’,
the accomplishment of this object, unless the many many years bringing myself into Parliament and supporting that administration of which Lord Grenville formed so distinguished a part, can be brought forward now as a claim for a single mark of favour to my son, when I am obliged after being in Parliament nearly 38 years, to retire from it by ill health suffering from my long attendance on the duties of it.
Being the only Member in the House who had been an officer in the commencement of the militia establishment, one most essential point to the State, I carried in Parliament, by introducing some years past the first enlisting a certain number of men out of the militia for the artillery, by which so many other measures for adding to the strength of the army became so easy to be accomplished.
Fortescue mss, Sloane to Ld. (forwarded to Ld. Grenville).
Sloane appeared in the Duke of Portland’s patronage book as wishing for a peerage subsequently. In 1804 he sold Stoneham and began embellishing Paultons, his new residence, which work was completed in 1808.
Sloane survived until 1827. In 1809 Lady Harriet Cavendish, who visited his family at Paultons, reported that ‘Mr Sloane, the old one, tells long stories from morning to night which, however, he is very kind in not seeming to wish one to attend to much. He is a very respectable, good sort of man.’